


When Walls Cave In

by Idisch_von_Swedish



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Real World, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/F, Medication, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, POV First Person, Romance, Slow Build Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Slow Burn, no magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-27 03:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 50,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5032030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idisch_von_Swedish/pseuds/Idisch_von_Swedish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma is almost twenty-six years old, unemployed and new in town - things aren't going well for her. Regina is the irritable but respected mayor - things are seemingly going well for her, but are they really? Emma keeps encountering the mayor under unfavourable circumstances, and there are consequences.<br/>Emma's POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Curse

**Author's Note:**

> * ADDITIONAL TRIGGER WARNINGS will appear in the notes of affected chapters (to avoid unnecessary spoilers but still warn).
> 
> * I do NOT own the original show, any of the original characters, or any of the songs/movies/etc mentioned.
> 
> * This is an AU fanfic: Storybrooke, it's locations, and the characters are therefore somewhat altered to fit the story.
> 
> * Right now updates are slow, bear with me (but I do post both here and on Fanfiction.net)
> 
> Also, I want to thank my lovely beta Greyet and my fellow swen nerds, your help is invaluable!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma runs into a particular someone.

_**I was new in town, without a job, without money, and my parents were paying my bills. When I thought things couldn't get any worse I accidentally drove into someone's car and of course that someone wasn't just anyone. Of course it was the gorgeous business woman who lived just a few blocks away. We seemed to bump into each other strangely often, and quite literally.**_  

* * *

   
  **The Curse**

The tires of my yellow old Beetle screeched in protest as I hit the brakes, hard. The black Mercedes-Benz had come out of nowhere and there was no chance I would be able to avoid driving into it. At least the impact wasn't too forceful, thanks to my quick reflexes, and when stillness ensued I mostly felt a bit shaken. The other driver, though, spared no time dwelling in the driver's seat and came rushing right back to inspect the damage I had caused to her vehicle's rear end. She clenched her fists and inhaled deeply, jaw muscles tensing, then turned toward me and froze momentarily. Her expression briefly shifted to a more surprised one and then back to indignant again as she exhaled.

" _You!_ " she mouthed, or hissed, I couldn't really tell since I was still inside my car and it muted her voice.

Within seconds she had walked up to me and impatiently rapped at the window. I gulped and opened the car door, cause winding down the windows in this old thing took just about half a day, and evasively peered up at her with what I hoped would look like a regretful and disarming smile.

"Hi," I said with a small voice, "...again."

"Well well, who is it if not Miss Klutz herself, I should've guessed," she said and smiled sarcastically, apparently not impressed by our previous encounters.

Yeah, that's right, we had met before. Quite a few times actually and for some reason I seemed to always make a fool out of myself, which was highly unfortunate since she was drop dead gorgeous. Very typical, just my luck. Had I believed in magic there would be no doubt, I was cursed.

The first time we met had actually been my first day here in Storybrooke, and this particular day had also happened to be exceptionally rainy. To no one's surprise – well not mine at least – I hadn't dressed accordingly so on my way to buy some groceries to put in my empty fridge I had been running. Stupid, I know, since it doesn't really help. Like, at all. Anyway, she had crossed the street in front of me and unlike some others – that would be me – she was sensible enough to actually use umbrellas. Her elegant figure had immediately caught my eye and I had slowed down my pace to be able to take a closer look at her. But of course the curse had struck and the very moment she noticed me and met my curious stare I had stepped off of the sidewalk, onto the street, and stumbled right down into a nasty puddle. You know, the kind of puddle that's more like an ocean of dirty water mixed with trash. It had splashed loudly, stained my pants up to my thighs, leaked into my boots and totally ruined the moment.

There had been that time at the mall where I accidentally bumped into her and dropped all my stuff. Or that time at Granny's Diner, where I had spilled hot chocolate all over myself in my eagerness to give up my seat for her. It had been really crowded and I had almost finished my drink anyway, with emphasis on  _almost_. We had also collided a couple of times on the street, mostly cause I'd been in a hurry and not looking where I was going. Perhaps I had just become really clumsy since I moved here but then  _why_  was it always  _her_  and never anyone else? Like I said, cursed.

It hadn't taken me long to figure out she must be living nearby. It was the only sensible explanation for our numerous encounters, especially when you added the fact that I'd seen her walk past my window regularly ever since I moved in, a month ago. It wasn't like I was stalking her or anything, but I was one of those poor people who didn't have a job and therefore usually stayed at home all day doing nothing of importance. It wasn't even my apartment, really, it was my parents'. Because I didn't have an income they were the ones who paid the majority of my bills. Almost twenty-six years old and living off my parents, what a disgrace. No wonder I spent most of my days moping and watching TV shows. It was definitely safer to stay inside though, if I'd just stayed at home today I wouldn't have crashed my car into that damned Mercedes-Benz of hers.

"Whenever someone bumps into me I can be sure it is indeed you," the angered driver said venomously. "Stepping it up a bit, aren't we? I take it  _running_  into me all the time wasn't enough anymore, you obviously had to destroy my car as well. If you didn't look so remorseful I would suspect that you were trying to get me killed."

She had a point, a valid point. My heedlessness was getting both annoying and dangerous. But I hadn't exactly destroyed her car, mine actually looked a lot worse, and I hadn't broken any traffic rules. I was quite sure I hadn't even been speeding ever so slightly and strongly believed she was in fact entirely to blame for this accident.

"I-I'm sorry."

"You should be!" she snapped.

"I didn't see you," I tried to excuse myself, but she didn't look impressed.

"That's what your eyes are for, to see!"

I couldn't help searching for her gaze at the mention of it. I had never really had a chance to examine her eyes before, always leaving as fast as possible while throwing an embarrassed apology after myself, but this time I forced myself not to look away. I swallowed visibly, quite intimidated by her intense stare. Her eyes were a rich chocolate brown, matching perfectly with her light, but not pale, skin tone and dark brown shampoo commercial hair.  _That hair._  I had always found it appealing but in today's sunlight it appeared particularly lustrous, bouncing gracefully around her face as she looked back and forth between me and her car.

"You're gonna pay for this," she demanded, pointing firmly at the once spotless, but now defected, Mercedes-Benz.

"It's not that bad," I tried, knowing it was probably to no use. "It's still drivable..."

The other woman looked at me like I was out of my mind.

"Excuse me?" she said with quizzically raised eyebrows and took a step closer, put her hand on the top of my Beetle, and leaned down so that we were at the same level. "Are you serious?"

Well, wasn't she just the typical upper class citizen who wouldn't accept anything less than perfection. Who always wore classy clothes and the right amount of makeup, making it look natural yet flawless. Who right now looked dangerously sexy, leaning into my car and basically threatening me with her very presence. To manage the sudden closeness without my imagination spinning off into wild – and highly inappropriate – fantasies I focused on the fact that I despised that kind of people. Actually, I felt quite annoyed. Resisting the temptation to look down her neckline I instead threw her a challenging look.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I am serious," I answered coolly. "I'm also pretty sure that  _I_  am not the one to blame for this."

Her jaw dropped with an insulted huff and I realized my response had come out a bit more accusing than I intended it to. But I knew I was right and therefore stood my ground. Well, sat. The brunette pursed her lips together and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You  _are_  aware that the speed limit here is 25 miles per hour, right?" she asked knowingly and waited for my reaction.

I felt my face lose colour and then regain it again as I blushed heavily. 25 miles per hour, in that case I  _had_  been speeding, quite a bit in fact. Dammit! How embarrassing, and what if she reported me to the police? Now I couldn't tell her to suck it up and pay herself, I was undoubtedly responsible for this as well. My silence and sudden redness gave me away.

"No?"

I gulped.  _No_.

"Why am I not surprised," she sighed, indeed not sounding even the slightest bit surprised. "So, this is what we're gonna do. You're gonna give me your contact information and when my car is reconditioned I'm gonna send the check to you. I expect you to pay without a fuss."

"But I can't!" I exclaimed with a hint of desperation in my voice.

"And why is that?" she inquired, tilting her head in an intimidating way.

"Cause I'm broke and I can't find a job. I don't even pay my own bills!" I confessed.

"Then why on earth aren't you driving more carefully?!" she questioned unbelievingly.

She eyed me closely with an almost concerned expression, as if there was something seriously wrong with me, and I almost felt offended. Was that pity in her eyes? Pity for the poor and stupid? She pulled back and looked over at her precious ride, her jaw tensing once again.

"We're still exchanging contact information," she asserted. "You'll just have to find a way to pay me back."

Her tone didn't invite to objection so I didn't object, even though I had no idea how to solve this troublesome money problem of mine.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said and gave me a threatening stare as she walked over to her car. "And don't you dare try a 'hit and run' on me, cause I  _will_  find you."

 _...and destroy me with your evil powers_ , I continued silently in my mind.  _No thank you_. I held my palms up in a disarming gesture, attempting to escape from this would be nothing but foolish. I didn't doubt for a second that she would find me, considering my habit of running into her at all times possible and the fact that we were practically neighbours.

While the vindictive brunette reached into the passenger seat of her car I looked at the surroundings for the first time since the incident. The two of us had been arguing for quite some time but the streets here in the outskirts of town appeared strangely empty this Sunday afternoon. A few cars has passed and I could distinguish someone walking their dog further down the road but that was about it. Maybe they were all down at the beach? No, it was still too chilly. Storybrooke and its inhabitants confused me, and one of said inhabitants was now on her way back to me.

"Here's my card," she said and handed me a stylish business card, followed by a pen and a piece of paper. "Just write down your details so I know how to get in contact with you."

I accepted and glanced at the card, one particular word catching my attention. The world stopped for a moment – or maybe it was just my heart – and I stared up at her in disbelief.

"Mayor?" I asked. "Really?"

"Yes, dear, I'm the mayor," she confirmed impatiently, flashing a false smile. "Now, if you could just-"

She interrupted herself and pointed at the piece of paper I held in my hand. I obeyed and wrote down my address and phone number, then hesitated for a moment. It was a silly idea but against better judgment I decided to do it anyway. Suppressing a smile I handed the paper and pen back to the brunette.

"There you go, Madame Mayor."

She suspected something was up because of the way I was acting and closely examined what I had written. It took her just a second to find out why I was trying not to laugh.

"Miss Klutz," she read out loud, an almost genuine smile finding its way to her rouged lips. "Are you sure this is your real name?"

I did a mental gesture of victory, not regretting my decision to follow through with the idea of putting her nickname for me on the paper instead of my own name. It had made her smile and now she was joking back. I hinted at her to flip the paper and she looked pleased with what it said: "Just kidding, I'm Emma Swan :)"

"Well, Miss Swan, I can see that you are a creative person. Just use that creativity to make yourself some money and you'll be fine."

Because of her obscure tone I couldn't figure out if she had just complimented or insulted me but decided to go with the positive option cause it made me feel better. I gave her a nod of acknowledgement and she began to turn away.

"But," I interrupted with my index finger raised, and she stopped, "I have already been asking around in town for a month and there doesn't seem to be one single vacancy. I mean, I've offered to scrub toilets, sweep floors, do dirty dishes, mow lawns, everything! But no one needs any help."

The mayor stood quiet for a while, evaluating me with her gaze, and I tried my best to not look like a complete loser.

"Scrub toilets and sweep floors, you say?" she finally asked, igniting hope in me.

"Mhm!" I nodded eagerly. "And it certainly doesn't have to be full time, anything will do! Anything is better than nothing."

She sighed.

"I can't quite believe what I'm about to say but...we're a little short on cleaning staff at the office. I guess I could offer you a temporary part-time employment until we find someone more qualified for the job."

I stared at her, astonished and momentarily speechless. Crashing into the mayor's car and getting a job because of it? Did those things really happen in real life? Maybe I wasn't so cursed afterall? Right now it felt more like a blessing.

"For real?" I wondered, trying to contain my excitement in case it was just some kind of mean joke.

"Of course. I'm the mayor, I don't joke around."

"Of course you don't," I said sheepishly and mentally slapped myself for my stupidity.

"But I don't want any trouble and that's all you've been to me so far. Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?"

"Absolutely not."


	2. A Pug for a Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma doesn't enjoy her first week at work and her parents don't get the Bug's new nickname.

**A Pug for a Bug**

There was  _no way_  I would let my carelessness ruin this opportunity. From now on I would always look where I was going, pay close attention to traffic signs, and not hurry as much. It was going to be difficult, I knew that for sure, but I needed a job and this was my first chance in months to get one. On the way home to my apartment with the accident fresh in my memory though, it wasn't hard at all to live up to my new standards. I was pretty anxious to make another mistake or drive into somebody else. Also, my Beetle probably couldn't take any more impact to the front without the important stuff getting damaged. Poor Bug. Or should I say pug, since it now looked like someone had punched it in the face?

Luckily the mayor's office wasn't far from my place and I could walk there in less than 20 minutes, even if I walked  _slowly_. It was a great thing, not only because my car looked like a sad mess but also cause gas cost money and I was trying to minimize my expenses. I had been told to be there at ten o'clock and that the chief of staff would show me around and get me started.

Since my new self wasn't supposed to hurry – and I couldn't under  _any_  circumstances be late – I left home a good half hour before my meeting. Arriving ten minutes early I decided to spend some time to thoroughly examine my new work place from the outside before I entered. Unsurprisingly it looked just like your typical multi-floor office building. After going inside I discovered that the lobby didn't hold any surprises either, except perhaps some odd art hanging on the left wall. While looking around I casually approached the receptionist. She looked up and greeted me with a polite smile.

"Hi, what can I help you with?"

"Hi, um, I'm supposed to meet Mr Humbert here in five minutes," I explained with uncertainty, crossing my fingers and hoping I had gotten the name, time and date right.

"Let me see..." she said and turned to her computer screen, making a few clicks. "Are you Emma Swan?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"ID, please."

Right, I hadn't thought that far ahead. It took me a moment to find my wallet and I struggled to get my driver's license out. With an apologetic smile I handed over the card. The receptionist took a close look at it, glanced up at me once, and then gave it back.

"Thank you, Miss Swan. Mr Humbert will be down shortly," she informed me with yet another polite smile. "Please sit down, if you like."

"Okay, thanks," I said with a nod and walked over to one of the chairs placed against the left wall.

I took a moment to study the framed art there before I sat down. Most of the pictures where black and white and either very stylish or totally messy.  _Abstract_ , I thought to myself. There was one that stood out though, a dark painting I was pretty sure depicted a tree. What distinguished it was that its fruit was blood red. Only it wasn't really fruit, it was – dare I say human – hearts. Quite morbid, and not the kind of thing you normally found in a waiting room. I sat down and looked at the opposite wall. It was filled with old photos, most of them in black and white as well. Storybrooke back in the good old days I presumed, recognizing a few landmarks. Impatiently tapping my fingers against my thigh, I waited. Patience had never been my strong suit.

A quarter past ten the guy finally showed up, his messy brown hairstyle clashing quite a bit with his tidy stubble and spotless grey tuxedo. I immediately stood and he walked over to me with hurried strides.

"Hi!" he greeted and extended his hand, ocean blue eyes looking straight into mine. "Graham Humbert."

I shook his hand firmly, holding his gaze.

"Emma Swan."

"I'm sorry you had to wait, something urgent came up," he apologized. "As it usually does around here," he added with a meaningful look.

"No problem," I said with a reassuring smile, curiously thinking about what that 'urgent thing' might have been.

The man told me to follow him and turned back where he had come from. We walked past the reception desk and made a turn to the left, facing two modern looking elevators. My new boss pressed the button that would call them to our floor and one of them opened immediately. I stepped into the car – which wasn't overly spacious but not small either – and the blue-eyed man followed. I glanced over at him, noticing which floor he requested.  _Four._

"Let's get started, shall we?" he said as the automatic doors closed, and it wasn't a question. "First, you'll need to fill out a few forms at my office, then I'll give you the tour."

Fill out forms, oh how I  _didn't_  like the sound of that. But it was for the sake of my economy and it would without question be much less tiring than the job itself.  _Scrub toilets..._  I groaned inwardly. The only thing that would make this job worth the effort - except the money of course, not that I expected the salary to be in any way spectacular – was if I happened to have fun coworkers. Considering who ruled this place I had my doubts.

Speaking of the mayor, I was rather worried I would have another impetuous encounter with her. Now that we worked in the same building and all the risk  _was_  in fact greater than ever. I wanted to prove that I wasn't the foolish, hopeless klutz I had given her reason to believe and if I continued to act like one it would be extremely difficult – if not impossible – to change her view of me. It had nothing to do with her perfect hair or captivating eyes or anything else her, I just couldn't stand that someone had the absolute wrong picture of me. She was nice to look at – I'd give her that – but that was pretty much the only nice thing I'd noticed about her so far. Then of course, I didn't know her very well. First impressions did go both ways and everyone deserved a second chance, not only me.  
  


* * *

  
I was exhausted. My shoulders hurt. My  _back_  hurt. I swore to God that if my second week was going to be as bad as my first one, he might as well kill me now and spare me the pain of another day in hell. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating just a teeny tiny bit. It wasn't that bad. I was just tired, walking home after a tough first week. It had been so much more hard work than I had imagined. For some reason – most likely cause my partner, Ashley, was pregnant – I had been asked to do all the heavy stuff and though I was proud to call myself fit I just wasn't used to this kind of workload. In my world, part-time meant  _part-time_. I hadn't been prepared for all those extra hours but of course I had had to say yes. More money for me.

So far I hadn't been working any shifts on my own, I'd always been accompanied by at least one other cleaner. Usually Ashley, the pregnant girl. It was reassuring since they had strict cleaning routines and whenever I felt unsure about anything I could just ask and then get it done correctly. We usually started at the top, where the mayor had her office, finishing each floor completely before we continued. Since the first shift started at six in the morning – yeah, six! – I was never at the fifth floor when the mayor arrived, which was usually at eight or nine. I had only spotted her twice this whole week and was both relieved and disappointed. But I enjoyed the peace.

It didn't last long though. When I got home this Friday afternoon I found the bill from a certain Marine Garage in my mail. My first reaction was to rip it apart and toss it in the trash but instead I took a deep breath, and called my mom. I wasn't getting any money until the end of the month and the mayor had made it clear she didn't want any trouble. I'd better pay as fast as I could.

"Hi dear, how are you doing? I've not heard from you this week, is everything alright?"

I hadn't missed my overbearing mother, not even a little bit, but I figured I'd rather have her care too much than not at all.

"Hi, Mom," I answered. "I'm fine really, just a little tired. I've gotten a job!"

The good news got my mom overly excited – no surprise there – and she invited me over for the weekend. I figured I would rather have the money talk face to face with her and Dad, and accepted. It would also be nice to have some decent food after this latest week on sandwich diet. I really had to bring better lunch next week.

"You have to tell me everything!" Mom chirped on the phone.

"Tomorrow, Mom," I ensured her. "Tomorrow."

She seemed content with that and I ended the conversation, promising her to arrive at noon. It took about two hours to drive-

"Crap!" I exclaimed.

My parents lived in Waterville and I needed my car to get there. The car they had given me for my 16th birthday, the car that faithfully had taken me many many miles without complaining or breaking down, the car that I had  _crashed into the mayor's_  no less than five days ago. I wasn't scared to drive again but the fact that I would have to tell my parents about the accident bothered me. I felt so stupid, and guilty. Also, it was pretty embarrassing to drive around in a wrecked car. It functioned perfectly and I had just had to change the left headlight bulb, but still. At least I could hope that my parents would find the pug joke funny.  
 

* * *

  
They didn't find it particularly funny. Perhaps cause they weren't familiar with the breed and I had to explain it to them. Luckily they were too excited about my recent employment to dwell over the damaged car for longer than a few minutes.

"So, this job of yours. What do you do exactly?" my dad asked as we walked inside.

"Well," I answered reluctantly. "I clean...offices..."

"You don't work  _at_  the office then, like, the way you're supposed to do?"

"No, Dad," I sighed and went into the kitchen, my parents in tow. "I just clean them so other people can work there."

The table was already set and I claimed my usual spot next to the window, letting my parents digest the brutally honest answer. Dad sat down across from me while Mom checked on the food. They were old-fashioned like that.

"I see," he said, not doing much to hide his disapproval.

"Oh come on, David," my mom scolded. "It's not easy to get a job these days, we all have to take what we can get."

I gave her a thankful smile.

"I know," my dad reluctantly had to admit. "It's just that I don't like to see my daughter's talent go to such waste. What's it worth being a certified paralegal when you work as a cleaning lady?"

"I dunno, life is unfair?" I guessed with a shrug. "But if it makes it any less disappointing to you it's at least a fancy office."

Both my parents raised their brows.

"Such as?"

"The mayor's," I revealed with an amused grin.

"The  _mayor's_?"

To me it wasn't that big of a deal – I didn't care much for titles and Storybrooke was a rather small town – but apparently it impressed my mom.

"How did you get that job exactly?"

"Mom, it's not like I work for the Queen..."

"No, I know. But still!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. But how I got the job  _did_  make a good story, I had to admit that.

"You remember I told you I drove into someone with my pug?"

Mom looked confused for a moment but then seemed to recall the new nickname for my car. I continued.

"Well, that someone was the mayor. In her Mercedes-Bentz."

Mom looked a bit pale and I tried to keep a straight face, although I just couldn't help but to chuckle at the memory.  _Crazy day, that._

"This is not funny, Emma," my mom lectured.

"Oh please, she probably deserved it anyway. She's a total bitch."

" _Emma!_ " my mom gasped.

Both my parents looked rather shocked and Mom even looked angry. I knew I had passed the limit of what she would tolerate and decided to lay off a bit.

"Fact is, she's not a very nice person. However, what happened was an accident and I've vowed to be more careful. Satisfied?"

Mom still looked displeased but not as much as she had done before.

"Well, we've seen your car but what about hers?" dad asked tentatively.

"Barely scratched," I huffed. "But she got really mad and demanded that I'd pay. That's the reason she hired me, so I could pay the repair shop. Unfortunately I won't get any money until the end of the month so I was hoping you could lend me some. You know, just until I get my salary. I'll pay you back in no time."

"I believe we don't have much of a choice, do we? She doesn't seem like the person you would want to get in trouble with."

"Your conclusion is accurate," I agreed.

I was at least grateful that she hadn't pressed charges. Somehow I got the feeling that it wouldn't have been a pleasant experience. For anyone.

Something that  _was_ a pleasant experience was tasting my mother's fish soup and she beamed at me when I let her know, seemingly having forgiven my earlier disagreeable attitude toward the mayor and the accident. The dish was truly delicious and I realized how much I had missed my mother's cooking. Well, not justher cooking, but you know... Phones were great for talking but not so much for transferring food, and I hadn't visited my parents since I moved into my apartment in Storybrooke.

Conversation died out as we all – well not really, my mother had a little more style – shoved spoonfuls of savory soup into our hungry mouths. I think Dad and I reconciled while engaging in our unspoken speed eating contest. We both knew it annoyed my mother to no end and had a fun time watching her shoot admonitory glances at us. There were reasons to eat fast though, aside from being obnoxious and satiating hunger.  _Someone_  had mentioned that we were having gooseberry pie for dessert.


	3. Heart of Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is beginning to settle in at work and gets aquainted with the staff.

**Heart of Stone**

"The mayor just arrived and complained about the trash cans being full. Didn't you empty them?"

It was always the same, the mayor this, the mayor that, mayor mayor mayor. She never failed to find something to complain about. I had almost completed my second week at the office and despite the woman in charge it hadn't been as bad as my first one.

"No, I thought you did?" I said, frowning at Ashley who was the one I was working with today.

"Oh. No, I must've forgotten."

The younger woman looked tired and confused, and then suddenly anxious.

"Do you think she'll be mad at me?"

"The mayor? Isn't she always mad at, like, everyone?"

"Well," the girl said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "We don't call her the  _Evil Queen_  for nothing..."

"You guys call her that? For real?" I asked with a chuckle.

Ashley let out a nervous laugh and shifted her eyes, as if she expected the mayor to appear from a puff of smoke any second now.

"Sometimes," she guiltily admitted. "But never so she hears, of course."

"Of course," I said, grinning mischievously, the macabre painting in the lobby coming to mind. "You wouldn't want her to rip your hearts out."

The girl paled and I regretted my unnecessary comment. She was obviously frightened by the mayor and I didn't need to intensify her fear with my silly jokes, she already had too much stress to deal with and her baby was almost due.

"Hey, how about you stay here and  _I_  go upstairs to deal with the trash cans?" I offered.

"I'd be grateful," Ashley said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

I smiled at her and left for the elevators. There weren't a lot of things that scared me. The mayor was intimidating, yes, and I wouldn't say I felt particularly  _safe_  with her, but she didn't frighten me. Not really. Therefore, I didn't bother to hurry on my way to her office. There was no point, she would be displeased either way. Bracing myself I knocked at her door.

"Room service!"

"Come in," followed her irritated reply.

She was clearly not in the mood for jokes – which I suppose she rarely was – but I didn't care much, this was my way of getting back at her for being a bitch all the time. I entered and noticed that she – to my pleasure – didn't look her usual perfect self.

"Rough night, Madame Mayor?" I asked suggestively.

She gave me a poisonous stare in return and I shrugged, walking over to empty the trash can.

"I just...thought you looked a little tired, that's all," I said with feigned innocence.

She huffed dismissively.

"If you must know, my son had nightmares. Neither of us got much sleep last night."

Her son? She had a son? She was a mother? I tried to wrap my head around that new piece of information while pitying the poor boy. Had the mayor been  _my_  mother I was sure I would've been troubled with nightmares as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He just has a vivid imagination, more so than the average nine-year-old. I keep telling him there're no such things as monsters and evil witches but he doesn't believe me," she explained, putting a stack of paperwork in a folder.

"Naturally," I said with an eye roll, earning another glance from her. "He's a kid."

"Don't tell me what I already know."

She looked down at the folder she was still holding in her hands and placed it neatly on the desk. Despite her still hostile tone, the mayor seemed to be in a better mood now when talking about her son. She looked a bit distant and a small absent-minded smile lingered on her lips. I continued to watch her while moving toward the door, plastic bag in hand. Halfway there I stopped and tilted my head. She hadn't moved an inch, seemingly lost in thought. I glanced over at the only thing hanging on the wall, an elegant silvery frame encasing a photograph of a smiling boy.

"Is that him? In the picture?" I asked.

She blinked and looked up at me momentarily before turning around, her smile growing wider.

"Yeah, it is," she said, a sudden warmth in her voice.

"Cute."

There was a moment of comfortable silence and I felt as if she had let her guard down a bit. Softened. As if she had peeled off at least one of all those layers that was the mayor and was letting the person inside shine through. She was...glowing really, with this earnest affection she clearly felt for her son. I watched her – or stared possibly, I might have stared...probably did – and felt strangely drawn to this other version of her. The woman underneath all of those layers, the woman behind the hard-boiled facade, the woman that was simply Regina Mills. If she even existed, but I was pretty sure she did and that I had just gotten a glimpse of her.  _Regina Mills._

Unfortunately no moment lasted forever, and this certainly didn't. Out of nowhere her mood dropped and the Evil Queen – as the others apparently called her – was back in a flash.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do," she snapped.

"Yeah, yeah me too," I mumbled and quickly left her office, not sure what had actually just happened.

I gave it some thought while checking the rest of the floor for any other trash cans Ashley might have missed. Talking and thinking about her son had made the mayor open up briefly, and then what? She was so madly serious about her work that she got mad at me for tricking her into spending a few of her precious minutes to be sentimental? It did sound a bit farfetched but what did I know.  _Something_  had undoubtedly made her turn back into her usual vitriolic self.

It was none of my business really, but I decided I wanted to figure out what her deal was. She intrigued me and I was way too curious for my own good. There ought to be reasons behind her behaviour other than pure viciousness. She'd at least shown me she didn't have a heart of stone, which was comforting. Not that I'd ever have a chance to...anything with her anyway – and not that I wanted to – but yeah. Still curious.

I finished the floor and returned to Ashley, thinking she might be able to help with my new self-assigned mission.

"About the mayor..." I began, gaining the girl's attention.

"What about her?" she said, looking up at me with inquiring eyes.

"Has she always been like this? So..."

I thought back on all of our unpleasant encounters, struggling to find the right term.

" _...contemptible_?"

"I've only worked here for a year, so I can't really tell, but she's been this way as long as I can remember," she told me. "Though, I feel like she's gotten worse lately. Since about when you started actually."

"Oh?"

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with you," she said reassuringly. "You're doing a great job."

I perked up at the compliment, glad that at least someone had noticed my hard work.

"I  _do_  try to do my best."

The conversation died out, both shifting focus back to our task at hand. I pulled on a pair of latex rubber gloves and wrinkled my nose, looking down the toilet.  _My favourite thing to do._  At least I got paid.  
 

* * *

  
"Hey, Birdie!"

My mood darkened at the unwelcome nickname and with an annoyed expression I turned to face the guy that had spoken. It was the building maintenance worker with his hallmark eyeliner – I hadn't bothered to memorize his name, just knew that he was Irish – or more commonly known as  _The Guy._  The Guy, who fixed all sorts of things and made sure everything in the building was tip top and working properly. He was sitting by himself at a table in the breakroom, checking me out while slowly stirring his cup of coffee. I bet it was spiked, he seemed like the type. Not just because of the fact that he was Irish but... Well, I guess that was part of it too.

"I'm not a bird."

"No? Swan? I thought it was pretty clever."

I rolled my eyes and walked past him to one of the employee's shared fridges. It was sandwich time. I  _had_  actually brought real lunch the days I had worked during those hours but today I was just scheduled for the morning. I placed my snack on a small plate and put it into one of the microwaves. While waiting for it to get heated I looked around for a seat, quickly ruling out the Irishman's table. I noticed Ashley sitting with some old lady – I didn't know her name either, she wasn't one of the office cleaners – and they were talking about the pros and cons of natural childbirth, apparently. Nothing I was particularly interested in but it was probably – definitely – my best option. The machine declared my cheese and bacon sandwich ready with a  _ding!_  and with my stomach growling I picked it out and walked over to the females. I plopped down next to Ashley, mindlessly taking a big bite of my scorching food.  _Ouch, hothothot!_  I put it down, breathing open-mouthed to cool my burned tongue while trying not to spit unchewed food all over the table.

"Hey,  _Emma_ ," the Irishman tried from his table across the room.

His timing couldn't have been worse. My mouth was still hurting, and very much full, so I was tempted to ignore him. But my curiosity got the better of me and I chewed quickly to minimize the pain.

"Yes, Mr Not So Clever?" I said, slowly turning toward him.

"I thought you didn't like nicknames," he remarked.

"Not for me, but well for others," I smirked.

He grinned at this and I glanced suspiciously at my sandwich while waiting for his reply, not trusting it to have cooled down just yet.

"I can live with that," he nodded. "But only if you do me a favour."

"A favour? Why I would do that, exactly?"

"Join me for drinks tonight and you'll be free to call me whatever you want..." he said theatrically, pausing for effect, "...and  _whenever_  you want."

He arched one of his eyebrows suggestively and I just... _no_.

"Ugh, please..." I said and turned back to my table, diving into my now moderately tempered food.

"Was that a  _no_?"

 _You're damn right it was._  Apparently he was not only irritating, but also dim. Not even good looks – which he didn't quite have, although he wasn't ugly – would have been enough to weigh up for his awful cheesiness. That was, even if I'd been straight. I swallowed down my current bite and sighed, my back still turned to him.

"It was. And it is."

"Woe is me, I guess I'll have to work on my seduction skills then. Would you mind to practise with me,  _Emma_?"

Was this guy for real?

"Will you just shut up already? I'm trying to eat here and you're making me feel sick," I exclaimed, waving my half-eaten sandwich in the air for emphasis.

"Whoa. The lass is having a date with her sandwich, I better leave them alone..."

Yeah, he better do that. Not that it sounded like he was going to.

"Miss Swan?"

Now that was another guy entirely and I didn't hesitate to turn around this time.

"Mr Humbert," I acknowledged.

"The, um, mayor wants to see you," he said reluctantly.

I skeptically furrowed my brows. I had been there just an hour ago, emptying her trash can. What could she possibly want with me now? Ashley gave me a worried look.

"Ehm, okay. What's the matter?" I asked, stuffing my mouth full with the remainder of my sandwich before I stood.

"Can't say," he said, not quite meeting my gaze. "She wanted to tell you personally."

That couldn't be any good. I grabbed a tissue on my way out and wiped the grease off my face and hands, Mr Humbert joining me in the elevator. We stayed silent though and he left at his floor, leaving me alone with my thoughts for the rest of the ride. I decided it was probably best to skip the jokes this time, so when I was outside the mayor's office – once more today – I simply knocked and then entered at her command.

"You wanted to see me, Madame Mayor?" I said, determinedly walking up to her desk with my shoulders squared.

"Yes," she purred, a devious glint in her eyes. "You see, we have a problem."

I wondered what this problem might be but trusted her to let me know. She looked like she had this big secret she was going to share with me.

"Or rather,  _you_  have a problem. One of our regular office cleaners has requested to go from part-time to full-time," she explained. "We have approved, which means we'll no longer have any use for you."

She had got to be kidding me.

"Miss Swan, you're fired."

She wasn't kidding.

"But I've only been here for two weeks! I need this job!"

"Well,  _we_  don't need  _you._ "

"But..." I began to object again but didn't know what I could possibly say to change her mind.

They didn't need me anymore, so, of course I had to go. But the way she had said it, the way she was looking at me... Could someone please take away that satisfied smirk from her face? To hell with her not having a heart of stone! She was enjoying this moment, enjoying to push me down and take away what little hope she had given me when offering this job in the first place. How could she enjoy that?

"Well, that is all," she declared. "You're dismissed."

And dismissed I was. Very much so.


	4. What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is moping and makes a decision she will regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may recognize the chapter title from the old sea shanty "Drunken Sailor" and as it hints there will be more of Hook (and alcohol, don't try this at home kids). I hope you like my take on him.
> 
> Also, I know Emma's birthday is supposed to be in October (or at least during fall) but I needed to change it in order to fit my story. I used Jennifer Morrison's birth date instead, which is mid-April, so I hope I'm forgiven :p

**What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor**

I angrily paced through the corridor, cursing under my breath.  _Miss Swan, you're fired._  And I had thought she was starting to soften?! Clearly I had been delusional.  _You're dismissed._  Feeling the need to act out some of my exasperation I chose the stairway over the elevator, figuring that rushing down the steps would let me blow off some steam. I didn't want to risk damaging any of the office's properties.  _Miss Boyd will manage on her own for the remainder of your shift, you may leave right away._ Like I wanted to stay.

It didn't take long until I was stomping back into the breakroom, panting from the exercise as well as my emotional state. I had just been gone a few minutes and everyone was still there, our breaks not yet over. The first to address me was someone with a significant Irish accent.

"Well lookie here, the lass is back from her brush with evil and she  _doesn't_  look merry. May I dare ask-"

"You shut up!" I cut him off, pointing demandingly at him.

"I see," he continued anyway, his hands casually held up in mock defense. "It didn't go very well."

I growled, for lack of words, and gave him an annoyed eyeroll. Obnoxious as he was, he was right. It hadn't gone well. I chided myself for my foolishness, my naivity. This job offer had been too good to be true and the turn of events shouldn't have surprised me. But I couldn't very well have anticipated her twisted view of  _fun_ , could I? It was still beyond me why she had looked so damned satisfied while crushing my hope. Did she genuinely enjoy inflicting pain on others? Did it keep her warm at night? Turn her on? Perhaps she had some weird fetish? I knew I was out of line but the anger relentlessly kept surging through my body as I made my way about the room.

This was a reminder – apparently a well needed one – of who the mayor was. A reminder that she was a person I should loathe, keep away from, and not waste any more of my time and energy on. However, her actions had only spurred me on. I was not going to let her get away with this. No.  _This was war_. I was going to find a way to figure her out, whether she liked it or not. I had a creative mind, she had said it herself, and surely I would be able to come up with something.

For now though, I just needed to compose myself and refrain from making a scene.  _Retire with dignity_. I took a deep breath to gather myself before I slumped down in my previous seat at the table with Ashley and the old woman, both of them turning their attention to me with inquisitive looks.

"She fired me," I muttered.

"What?" the younger woman said, staring at me with a look of surprise and disappointment. "Why?"

"One of the regular part-time employees wanted to work full-time," I stated bitterly. "And that person is gonna get what they want."

"But...you've worked so hard. You learned our routines in less than a week and you never turned down a request or complained. Regular worker or not, you're an asset. We're a small group of cleaners and honestly, some of the others aren't very...commendable... I don't understand why she wouldn't prioritize  _you._ "

If I really was doing as great as Ashley claimed this  _had_  to be about the car, I couldn't think of another motive. The mayor probably still held grudge against me for damaging her precious ride. How unforgiving of her. I had apologized, I had paid for its reconditioning, what more could she possibly ask for? Did she want me to kneel before her? Kiss her boots? Neither figuratively nor literally would I ever degrade myself to such an act and I could definitely think of better places to kiss her and God no, where was I even going with this?! Things went viral so fast in my mind sometimes and I quickly repressed the images that had been evoked.

"I have an idea of why but it doesn't matter, she made it pretty clear I'm not needed anymore."

"Maybe she's afraid of a little competition," the Irishman said, appearing beside me with a smug smile playing on his lips.

The old lady across the table excused herself and left. My guess was that she wasn't very interested in listening to the cheesy eyeliner-wearing guy and his theories. I was curious though and gave him an encouraging look. What exactly was he implying?

"Can't have too many fine ladies working here, cause then perhaps her pet would stray and her sheep would get distracted," he replied cryptically and claimed the now vacant seat.

"Sheep? Pet? Why are you speaking in riddles?" I questioned, ignoring the fact that he had – quite indiscreetly – complimented my looks.

"With  _sheep_  I was referring to basically every male employee at this place. She herds them well, can't argue with that. And  _pet_ , well, don't tell me you haven't noticed the humble Mr Humbert and his moony eyes?"

I looked at Ashley for confirmation and she nodded.  _Hmm._  I hadn't exactly noticed, no, but then I hadn't paid much attention to said man. I had never been very interested in the love life of others, or love in general. The physical part, hell yes! But the emotions and feelings and,  _ugh_ , they were just troublesome. Love was an illusion and sooner or later that illusion would fade away and reveal that truthfully, you had been alone all along. No, I didn't give much for love. Love was not real, and it was stupid.

"So he's into the mayor?" I questioned.

The Irishman and Ashley shared a knowing look. Apparently it was a well known fact around here.

"And she?"

"Well, what do you think?"

The guy across the table said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The mayor is basically that 'Oh No!'song with Marina and The Diamonds personified, sticking hard to  _'don't do love, don't do friends'_. But she sure uses Humbert's infatuation with her to her advantage. I mean, he's chief of staff, control over him means control over the rest of the employees in a way she wouldn't quite have otherwise. Maybe she felt threatened you'd steal her puppet away from her and decided it's best to get rid of the threat before anything happened between the two of you."

The two of who? The mayor and me?! Oh, no, of course not.  _Me and Mr Humbert_. I couldn't contain my amusement and the loud and mirthful snorts that escaped earned me quite a few questioning looks. The unwitting man's theory was a good one,  _for entertainment_.

"What's so funny?" he asked quizzically.

"Oh, nothing," I said, managing to stifle my laughter. "It's just that...I'm pretty much as gay as a gay can be."

It was ridiculous to think that anyone would feel threatened that  _I_  – at least deliberately – would steal some  _guy_  away from them. Especially funny had the part about something happening between me and Mr Humbert been. Like, yeah, something could definitely happen, we might wave hello to each other occasionally. I chuckled to myself, trying to read the others faces. They didn't look too shocked. Good for them.

"Anyway, for whatever reason she fired me she sure was serious about it. She basically told me to go home and that's what I'm gonna do now."

"Yeah, and our break is over," Ashley said with a tired sigh. "It's been great working with you, even if it was only for a short time. I'm gonna miss it."

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss it too," I said with a friendly smile and got out of my seat. "Perhaps not the work itself, you know, I put up with that mostly for financial reasons."

"Totally understandable," she said, meeting my smile with one of her own. "Bye Emma."

"Bye Ashley. And have a nice life you all!" I said, the last phrase directed toward everyone in the room.

I began to exit but stopped in the doorway and turned around again.

"Not you," I sneered at the irksome Irishman. "I wish you a very unnice life and a boring night alone with your drinks."

"Alright, cutie," he nodded cockily and saluted. "Ten pm at The Rabbit Hole if you change your mind."

I flashed him an annoyed and highly sarcastic smile before I left the breakroom.

There was a whole lot of leaving to follow. I left my work clothes, my key card, second floor, the elevator, the lobby... Once outside I failed to hold back the angry tears that ached to come out. I didn't want to cry, especially not over something like this, but nonetheless I did. All my bottled up anger and disappointment transformed into these salty drops, escaping from my eyes and travelling down my cheeks until they finally fell and settled onto my jacket. I glanced down at the red leather and noticed how the view was similar to when it was just starting to rain. But it wasn't raining now, was it? I lifted my gaze toward the sky and it was blue and clear, the sun shining bright and eager this spring morning. _Just my tears then..._

"Let's go home," I said to the tears.

I tried to wipe them away from my face, succeeding to at least some extent. My hands got wet.

At home I surrendered to mope in front of my TV. Netflix became my escape and it almost felt like old times.  _Almost_. I kept my mind occupied with comedies, rewatched  _Devil Wears Prada,_  and saw the mayor instead of Miranda. The film had a happy ending, kind of, and reality struck me. This, what I had now, was  _not_  a happy ending. Neither was it the beginning of something new and exciting. It was just... _pitiful_. If I only had gotten just another week. Or a day even. Had this happened any other day of the year I wouldn't  _at least_  have felt as... It was just so... Why did it have to happen today?

This morning had been such a roller coaster ride. The banter with the mayor that had actually led to a rather congenial moment. The overdose of persuasive cheesiness in the breakroom – not counting my sandwich, which had been damned delicious once I'd been able to eat it – that had not led to anything at all. And then,  _war_. I had gotten fired and I didn't deserve to be fired and I didn't accept to be tossed around like this and it was my birthday...  
 

* * *

  
I was standing at a floating dock down by the harbour, looking at the craft in front of me. This was insane. How had I ended up here? The night's events replayed before my eyes.

~ ~ ~

I hadn't wanted to be alone on my freaking birthday, that would've been too depressing. It was one of the few occasions I actually cared about and liked to celebrate. When the sky began to darken my mood had done the same. I had poured myself a drink, and then another. Then another. And then the bottle of rum had been empty. But it hadn't been sufficient, drinking alone rarely was. I had checked the time,  _half past ten_ , and with my judgement clouded it had suddenly not felt as such a terrible idea after all.  _Maybe...?_  I knew roughly where the pub was located and it hadn't been too hard to find the place.

"Took you forever," the Irishman had remarked with a self-assured smirk when I turned up beside him at the bar counter.

"I had to get a little drunk before I could convince myself that spending time with you wasn't the worst idea I've ever had," I had retorted, causing him to throw his head back and laugh loudly.

"Drinks are on me tonight," he then declared, and I hadn't expected any less, not under the prevailing circumstances.

Did that make me a bad person?

"What do you want?"

"Something _strong_."

I hadn't wanted to be alone on my birthday, and neither had I made any friends here in Storybrooke yet. Except maybe Ashley, but she was pregnant and couldn't possibly have joined me for drinks. Visiting my parents had been out of the question – even while still being fit to drive – because I didn't want to tell them I had lost my job. I hated to disappoint them and if I had gone, they would've figured it out. They read me too well, my parents, especially my mom. She knew how I acted when I was keeping secrets from her. 'Mother's instinct' she claimed every time I asked how she had known. I was pretty sure it had more to do with the twenty-three years I had spent living with her.

I had been telling him about how it was  _my most special day of the year_  when my drink arrived.

"It's your birthday? And she picked this particular day to sack you?"

"Mhm," I had affirmed grumpily, with a bitter nod.

"That's mad, darlin'! How young are you know?"

"Twenty-six," I had replied, my voice slightly raised to be heard above the noise around us.

"Cheers to twenty-six!"

We had clinked glasses, the big gulps of liquor I had procceeded to take burning my throat and distracting me from my gloomy thoughts. Which, to be frank, had pretty much been the point of being there, so all good. A few drinks later the guy beside me had fallen back into his habit of using awful nicknames and things had begun to get a little hazy.

"I knew you'd come to your senses and join me tonight, babes. You sure about that lesbian thing? Have you ever tried-"

I had punched his arm, hard, and had my glass not been half empty its contents would've spilled onto my lap and soiled my jeans.

"Keep it in your pants, you hooker!"

He had just grinned at me, seemingly unfazed.  _This is just great_ , I had thought to myself.  _I better watch out for this skeeve._  I didn't know him very well but what I  _had_  known – even then – had been telling me to keep far far away from him, at least it had while I was still sober. But at the bar I hadn't been sober, far from it, and instead been dulling my mind with toxic liquids, trying to forget all about today and tomorrow and yesterday. It had all been about forgetting. Forgetting and escaping.

"Shouldn't it be 'gigolo' since I'm a male?"

"You're not even near classy enough! 'Gigolo' is such a weird word anyway."

He had shrugged and leaned closer, his breath hot and steamy against my ear.

"Either way, I assure you that for  _you_ , love, the fee is free."

I had shot him a disgusted look and gotten a pair of wiggling eyebrows in return, his drunk self just as terrible as his sober one. Probably worse. I just hadn't been in a state able to determine that at the time. A while later I had begun to feel sick – but not from him as much as from the alcohol – and decided it was time to head back to my apartment.

"I'm going home."

"Already? It's barely past midnight!" the Irishman had objected and put an arm around my waist, yanking me closer. "The fun's just started!"

It had definitely not been 'barely past midnight' and the fun had definitely never started.

"I should go."

There had been a short moment of stillness, a fraction of time – but long enough to be noticed – passing by in silence.

"Alright, let's go," he had suddenly agreed with a shrewd look on his face.

I had objected. He was  _not_  coming with me. He had insisted. I was coming with him.

"You've got to see my boat!"

My words had been just as slurred together as his, but his accent – intensified with every drink – had made him sound much worse and sometimes I hadn't been able to understand what he'd been saying. But this I got.

"You have a  _boat?_ "

"Cabin cruiser," he had told me. "Home, sweet home."

"You  _live_  on a boat?"

"I do," he had confirmed with a supposedly seductive look on his face.

"I guess I'll have to upgrade your nickname then,  _Captain Hooker_."

He had laughed and dragged me out of the bar. I had let him, wanting to see his cruiser with my own eyes, not quite believing him. We had headed down toward the docks, staggering, stumbling, and leaning onto each other for support. Neither of us had been able to keep a straight line for more than a few steps in a row. Luckily the pub was pretty close to where his boat was docked and we had made it there eventually.

"Hop onto my ship, baby!" he had exclaimed, presenting his residence.

It had indeed been a boat, a wooden and fairly large one to be specific. The poor lighting had made it impossible to distinguish her name but I wouldn't have been able to read it anyway since I was pretty much seeing double.

"Are you out of your mind?! What if I fall into the water?"

"Then I'll rescue you, princess!"

~ ~ ~

Back in the now, I suddenly wanted it all gone.  _Regrets_. This had been a mistake from the beginning. Why had I gone to the bar, to  _him_? Why had I been drinking so much, with  _him_? Where had my common sense been hiding all night?! I was  _not_  entering his boat. I was simply  _not_  going to put myself in a small closed off space, with an almost stranger, drunk, in the middle of the night. It was  _not_  going to happen. I took a step back and shook my head.

"No," I said, still shaking my head. "No."

"You don't have to be scared, I've done this a zillion times. It's safe."

_No_ , I thought,  _it's not_.  _And I don't want to be here anymore._  I remembered the promise I had made to myself, to my parents. I was going to be more careful. Drinking oneself shitfaced and following a stranger home was certainly not being  _more careful_. It was being more reckless.

"I need to get home," I stated. "Thanks for the drinks."

Had I really thanked him? I guess I had.  _Oh well._  I turned around – too quickly it proved – and faltered for a moment, barely managing to keep myself from falling into the blackness next to me.

"Oi, easy there! Sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine."

With some struggle I managed to find my way back to the street we had come from and started my journey back. I had lied though. I was not going to be  _fine_. Firstly, there was the issue of walking straight, I was simply incapable of it. Clearly a disadvantage when travelling by foot. Secondly, there was the nausea, which was getting worse by every step. And lastly – but certainly not leastly – I realized that I wasn't sure which way  _home_  was.

I kept zigzagging my way through the – for the most part – empty town, hoping that I was heading in the right direction. That I would, miraculously, find myself outside my apartment, eventually. But my head just kept spinning and I felt so sick. So sick... Too sick. I stopped and bent over.  _Regrets_. And again.  _More regrets_. Oh, this was just terrific, now my mouth tasted like vomit. I hoped I hadn't got any on my clothes or in my hair. And again.  _Why_. Well, at least my stomach felt much more at ease now.

I started moving again, resuming to rake my gaze up and down the streets seeking something familiar. A building, a shop, a sign, there had to be  _something, somewhere,_  that I would recognize. Just something. Anything... But my search was a futile endeavour and I found nothing, absolutely  _nothing_ , that indicated I was even  _close_  to my neighbourhood.

I was lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger ;)


	5. Dazed and Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is hungover and tries to remember how she got home last night (but we already know).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that this took so long, but I've been busy and my beta has been busy and also I had trouble deciding whether the chapter should end where it does now or include one more scene. Finally decided to wait with the extra scene, but that means I already have the beginning of chapter six beta-read, so I'm pretty optimistic that I'll be able to post next chapter on time. Yep, forever optimistic :D
> 
> The chapter title is a song from the Swedish band Von Benzo. The lyrics are not an exact match, some parts are rather the opposite, but I do encourage you to listen to it anyway cause it's a nice song and some lines are perfect :)
> 
> Oh well, here is chapter five! Weighing up for the recent lack of Swan Queen interactions I hope. Enjoy!

**Dazed and Confused**

Lost. In this small shit town I had managed to get  _lost_. Had I really been living here for a month and a half? _Too much Netflix, dammit!_  This just wasn't happening. It couldn't be. I had  _never_  been in this situation before.

I blamed the persistent Irishman and his bad influence, but most of all myself for my ignorance. I should've known better. But realizing that  _now_  didn't help me one bit, did it? What should I do? I was sure that if I could just metabolize some of that alcohol everything would clear up. So, I just needed to rest for a few hours. But where? The sidewalk didn't exactly look tempting.

A car honked and I suddenly found myself in the middle of the road. Now that was interesting. And there was the mayor and she couldn't be here and I was clearly hallucinating.

 _I'll never ever ever drink with that...that_   _ **pirate** __again!_

With a content smile – satisfied with this decision – I tried to get back to the sidewalk, but wherever I turned was the brunette with her shampoo commercial hair and plum lipstick and agitated shouting and what was she saying exactly?

"Are you on drugs?!"

I shook my head confusedly. No, I wasn't on drugs. At least I didn't think so? I was just really drunk. And really tired. And really lost... And it was really the mayor, I realized.  _Fuck._  I blinked repeatedly, not able to focus my gaze enough to determine which of the women before me who was the true one.  _Fuck fuck fuck._  Why did these embarrassing encounters keep happening to me? This night was officially a disaster. _About time to come to that conclusion, stupid!_

"Then  _why_  are you stumbling about in the middle of the road, smiling at nothing?" the mayor questioned sternly, and I thought I heard a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Going...home?" I replied sheepishly, cursing inwardly at how the words came out slurred and wrong and-

"From where?" she continued her interrogation and glanced around at our surroundings.

"The docks."

"The docks?" she echoed skeptically, furrowing her brows."You're completely lost, aren't you?"

"No," I said evasively, not wanting to admit the embarrassing truth.

She gave me a knowing look, clearly not believing my answer. And why would she? The evidence were speaking against me. For one, I couldn't even stand without staggering. Reluctantly realizing that lying wasn't going to get me anywhere I cast down my eyes in defeat.

"I just wanna get home," I mumbled, and it came out a lot more helpless than I would've wanted it to.

There was an irritated sigh from the brunette and a bit of swaying from me, and then...

"Get in the car."

I looked up at the mayors, my eyes widened. I was getting a lift home? This nightmare was over? I wouldn't have to humiliate myself by sleeping on the ground? The many eyes gazing back at me all confirmed my hopeful guesses.

With a relieved smile and a breathy " _thank you!_ " I turned around to locate her Benz, but the world kept  _spinning spinning spinning_. Then there were suddenly hands steadying me, guiding me forward. She helped me fasten my seatbelt as well – being too impatient to wait while I struggled to accomplish the task myself – and it made me feel an awful lot like a child.  _A child_. Memories of our conversation this – well, yesterday really – morning were brought back.

"How's your kid?" I asked in my politest of manners.

The brunette stilled halfway out of the car.

"He's  _fine_ ," she stated bitterly and slammed the door shut.

What had I done wrong now? I had just tried to make conversation with her. Being friendly. But of course, how stupid of me. The mayor didn't  _do friendly_. I sighed and laid my head back against the headrest, closing my eyes.  _So tired_. My fretful chauffeur got into the driver's seat and the car's engine revved to life.

"If you throw up in my car I'm gonna flay you alive."

I was glad I had emptied my stomach earlier.

We drove in silence and I came to rest against the side window. It wasn't exactly comfortable but I didn't really care, it was better than the pavement.  _Much_  better. A voice then pierced through the haziness and I realized the car had stopped.

"If you don't mind, I would like to get home before dawn. Your apartment is right there."

I groaned, forcing my eyes open, and turned my head toward the mayor. There were still two of her, both pointing out the windshield, and indeed, finally a building I recognized! I clumsily searched for the doorhandle, fumbled.  _Stupid car!_

"Do you need help with that?" sounded a condescending voice at my left.

"I know how to open a fucking door," I grumbled, locating the handle at last.

"I'm impressed."

Ignoring her comment I proceeded to climb outside, trying to do so with grace in an attempt to prove that I could  _very well_  take care of myself and  _did not_  need any more of her help and was in fact _not_  that drunk after all.

No such luck.

I had to put my hands on the side of vehicle for balance and turned to face it, closing my eyes and wishing the world would just  _be still_. I was craving to lie down and I was so close, so close...  _Almost there_ , I encouraged myself.  _My precious bed_.

The car went silent and there was a  _bam_  from the mayor's door shortly followed by a  _slam_  from mine.

"I  _presume_  you need assistance to your door," I heard her say dryly and I reluctantly appreciated those firm hands that once again guided me. "I'm surprised you didn't fall into the sea."

_Well, it had been a close call._

"What were you even doing down by the docks at this hour?"

"I'm an idiot," I muttered.

"Finally something we can agree on."

"I followed him home, to his boat," I continued regretfully, shaking my head at my heedless actions. "I shouldn't have..."

Her grip of me suddenly tightened, but probably not because of what I had said and more likely because I happened to stumble over the doorstep just then. A few moments later we came to a halt in front of the apartment building's leftmost entrance and I dug through my pockets for the keys.

"He didn't...hurt you, did he?" the mayor asked, almost hesitantly, and I wondered if I was just imagining things or if she actually seemed worried about me.

"What do you care?" I questioned, attempting to fit what I was certain to be the right key in the lock and failing miserably.  _Stupid key!_

"Of course I care!" she exclaimed, clearly offended. "I can't have some  _rapist_  running loose in my town!"

Oh, so it had nothing to do with  _me_  then, it was all about  _her_. She was just looking out for  _her_  town, just as she probably had been doing when she picked me up and brought me home.  _"I can't have some_ _ **drunk**_ _stumbling around on_ _ **my**_ _streets!"_  Yeah, I could almost hear her say it.  _Bitch_.

"And I certainly can't have him  _working_  for me," the woman beside me continued, still upset. "If he harmed you in  _any_  way I'll have him terminated faster than a cat lapping chain lightning."

Faster than a what now? Too advanced language for my fuzzy brain.

"Well, he didn't," I said, resigned.

My hand was still hovering in front of the lock and I squinted my eyes, trying really hard to focus. Suddenly her hand was over mine and the key magically fitted, indeed being the right one. Within a few seconds the mayor had opened the door and shoved me inside, and that was when her words sank in.

"Wait," I said, frowning.

She stilled and let the door close behind her.

"I never said who it was," I pointed out.

She gave me a patronizing smirk.

"There's only one man in this town mad enough to live on a boat," she explained, and continued without even trying to hide her disdain. "And I do mean to criticize your choice of partner. Killian Jones? Really? One might think you're desperate."

Right, that was his name. Perhaps it was time I made some things clear.

"I did  _not_  sleep with him. God. What do you think of me?"

"Right now I'm not quite sure what to think of you," she replied dryly.

She had a point.

"Which floor do you live on?" she asked, changing the subject and appearing impatient.

"Second," I said and pointed toward the narrow and tarnished elevator door diagonally in front of us. "The elevator is kinda gross but it actually works half the time."

"We'll take the stairs," the mayor decided with a disgusted look on her face, grabbing my arm and brusquely dragging me along.

"O-kay," I agreed – not really having a choice – and stumbled after her, kind of missing those gentler hands from before.

Climbing the stairs was a challenge and I wouldn't have managed it without help. Well, unless I had crawled, that could've worked. I clung tightly to the other woman's arm when we finally arrived at my door, all tooaware it was the only thing protecting me from falling back down the stony stairs. The mayor unlocked my door – apparently she still had my keys – and then gently pushed me inside, turning me so that we were facing each other. Looking me in the eyes she put the keys in my hand and clasped it shut with her own ones.

"Water, bathroom, bed," she ordinated, squeezing my hand for each word.

I nodded obediently – a little confused by this unexpected helpful side of her – and suddenly felt very grateful. Again. In fact, I felt so grateful that I somehow dropped my keys and fell into an ungraceful hug with her while exclaiming just how grateful I was. She stiffened and didn't exactly reciprocate the hug, just patted my back awkwardly before firmly pushing me away from herself again.

"That's enough. Goodnight, Miss Swan. Don't make me do this again."

With that she left and I grabbed onto the doorframe, keeping myself upright in the doorway and watching her descend the stairs. She glanced up at me once, right before disappearing out of sight, and I wondered what exactly she had meant with those last words. Don't make her pick me up drunk and lost again, or don't make her hug me again? Or don't make her do...any of that?

Too exhausted to think anymore, I closed the door and retreated into the hallway. With some struggle I succeeded to follow the mayor's orders and then finally got to lie down. Everything was still spinning but it no longer mattered. I was home. I was safe. My bed had never been more comfortable.  
 

* * *

  
The next morning – well, noon really – I woke up with a splitting headache and a desert in my mouth. My stomach was aching too and I was still quite nauseous. A night of heavy drinking always came with a price, and I sure had been drinking a lot yesterday. I had tried to forget certain things and forgotten I had done, just not the parts I had wanted to. Because of that I was now not only fired, but also terribly hungover and last night was a blurry mess.  _How fucking brilliant_ _._

Seriously, what had I been thinking? Not much, apparently. But there had been a boat, I remembered that much. Had I been on it? I didn't think so. I also had vague memories of throwing up, but nothing after that. How had I even managed to get home? I sighed and closed my still tired eyes. Perhaps it would come back to me in a while.

A couple of hours later I woke up again, feeling a rather  _urgent_  need to pee. I reluctantly got out of bed and went to the bathroom. This day needed to go away.

But I knew it wouldn't, so I thought I might as well try to make the best of it. Swallowing down a couple of aspirins with a glass of water seemed like a good start, so I did that, and then I searched the kitchen for something edible. The only thing I found that didn't needed to be cooked – I  _really_  didn't feel like cooking right now – was a bruised banana, and the mere smell of it made my stomach revolt. I seriously needed to learn to plan ahead and stop procrastinating my grocery shopping.

With a sigh I closed the almost empty fridge and decided to pay a visit to Granny's Diner, since it was the closest place that served food. I would have to deal with the grocery store later, because I wanted to make a good and inclusive shopping list and was in no state to do that right now.

After a glance in the mirror I decided that I at least needed to take a shower before heading out, and putting some new makeup on was probably advised. It would be unfortunate if, let's say,  _the mayor_  saw me like this, because I knew she would put two and two together. Giving her the satisfaction of seeing just how badly I had taken getting fired was the last thing I wanted to do.

When I was dressed and ready to go I picked up my keys from the hallway floor. There were suddenly memories returning to me. I recalled having trouble with the lock the night before and someone else's hand over mine. There had been someone with me at my door. And a hug? The name  _Killian Jones_  also popped up in my head and I tried to connect it with a person.

 _Right, the irksome Irishman whom I_ _got drunk_ _with_. But was it him that had helped me home? Had he...? Had we...? No, that couldn't be, I couldn't have been  _that_  drunk. I would've needed to be practically unconscious for anything to happen between me and a guy. But then again, I didn't remember much. What if he had taken advantage of me? It was possible. Or was it?

I tried the door, and it wasn't locked.  _Gulp_. But I had woken up still in my underwear, so I shouldn't be worried. Right? And for some reason I got the feeling it hadn't been any guy at all, because as I remembered it, their voice had been female.

With sudden clarity I checked the call history of my phone for clues, but I had neither made nor received any calls yesterday. Sighing and shaking my head I left my apartment, not able to fully disregard my worries.

Walking to the diner didn't take me long and I was rounding the last corner, almost declaring my walk mayor-free, when I spotted her right outside of my destination. My already bad mood instantly dropped even further.  _Of course_ , I thought, glad that I had taken precaution and decided to freshen up. I guessed I was, actually, starting to get accustomed to this curse of mine.

And the mayor, well, she was leaving, so I wouldn't have to share space with her during my meal.  _Good._ I braced myself for the moment we would pass each other on the sidewalk, dark thoughts gathering in my mind.  _War_.

"Good to see you're feeling better, Miss Swan," she said and I forgot all about wars and curses.

_What?_

My surprise rendered me speechless and I slowed down my pace, watching silently as she strutted past me in her usual dignified way. Better how exactly? Had she referred to my reaction when she fired me? It seemed unlikely, considering how much she had appeared to enjoy that very part. Her comment today hadn't been mocking, just simple, plain, and just as unreadable as her face.

I approached the diner with my mind racing, frantically searching for an explanation. I had expected her to acknowledge my existence at most, and I had expected it to be with that usual hint of annoyance she didn't bother to mask. But this? My heart rate quickened as a possibility struck me.  _No way._  She hadn't. She just hadn't. It must've been somebody else. Somebody...

Doing everything in my power to determine  _exactly_  what had happened last night I tore the haziness apart, put it together again, looked over under through, tried to bend it with my will, but... All I got were more glimpses of the scenario I didn't want to believe.

It hadn't been somebody else.

I groaned audibly, already missing the bliss of amnesia, and stopped right outside the diner.  _Fired, terribly hungover, and_ _ **extremely humiliated**_ _,_ I updated my mental note from earlier.  _H_ _ow fucking even more brilliant_ _!_ Why had she even been out at that hour? It didn't make sense.

My thoughts returned to that awkward hug we had shared, and  _ugh_ , this was all really embarrassing. But, it was also a relief, cause I knew I had gotten home safe and sound and that nobody had taken advantage of me. The mayor had acted like a decent human being for once, and actually done something nice for another person. For me.

I turned my head toward her disappearing form and bore my eyes into the back of her head. Did this mean we were even? I let my gaze trail downwards, observing how snugly her coat fit her figure, enhanced it, defined her waistline, and... I was momentarily distracted by the swaying of her hips.

 _Don't even think about it!_  I admonished myself, quickly averting my gaze. This was certainly not a convenient time for inappropriate thoughts, since I had just ruined every chance I never had with her. And why did I even care? I didn't care.

The war was still on.


	6. Pictures In My Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma keeps embarrassing herself and she also comes to a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter sex - not really - six, almost on time! (It's Sunday, three in the morning here...) I hope you will like this chapter and the title this time is from the song Girls by Beatrice Eli. It's one of the songs I've been using to inspire my version of Emma, and it fitted especially well to this very chapter.

**Pictures In My Head**

I was still flustered by my regained memories when I stepped into the diner, a jingle announcing my arrival. There was no line so I walked straight up to the counter, recognizing the waitress from earlier visits. She looked about my age, perhaps a bit younger, and what I had noticed about her was that she liked to wear revealing outfits and bold makeup. Today was no exception and – as always – she looked good in it. Finally someone I could check out without betraying my principles.

"Hi, what can I get you?" she greeted, flashing her pearly whites in a welcoming smile.

_Your number?_

Her smile diminished, replaced by a look of bafflement, and I realized I had vocalized my thought.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, no, I was just...thinking out loud..."

_Smooth, Emma, real smooth._

"I mean, I was joking..."

My headache just got even worse.

"I'm sorry, forget all I said," I hurriedly apologized, rubbing my temples with a pained expression on my face.

I needed to stop making a fool out of myself in front of all and everyone, was that really so freaking difficult for me to accomplish?

"Apology accepted..." the waitress replied tentatively with a crooked smile, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Let's start over," I suggested. "Hi, I'm hungover, and I would please like some waffles and a hot chocolate with whipped cream, please."

Had I just said 'please' twice?  _Sigh_. Oh well, at least no harm done.

"Sure," she smirked and put my order in. "What do you want on your waffles?"

"Whatever you would take," I replied with a shrug, not wanting to bother my mind with yet another decision.

"Alright," she said and stood a little taller, seemingly appreciating to be trusted to choose for me. "Cinnamon on the chocolate?"

"Um, yeah," I said, quite impressed. "You remember that?"

Cause  _I_  hadn't. _Stupid hangover._

"Course I do! You always want cinnamon on your chocolate."

I smiled appreciatively, cause I hadn't been here  _that_  many times and felt genuinely happy that she had paid attention to the small detail.

"Anything else?"

"No, that's fine."

The prices here were fairly affordable and I told the waitress to keep the change, figuring she deserved it after putting up with my silly introduction. She lit up and thanked me, and then went to prepare my order.

The diner was barely half-full and rather quiet – which my poor head appreciated a lot – and I found a small table a bit closed off from the others where I could sit by myself and enjoy the peace. When the waitress arrived with my food I was sitting with my face buried in my hands, trying to make all the painful throbbing go away. The aspirins had only helped a little.

Hopefully I would feel better after some carbs and I ogled the plate that was put in front of me. Maple syrup and ice cream on the waffles, good choice. I took a bite and looked up at the brunette, who didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

"Thanks, um... What should I call you?"

"Ruby," she said with a friendly smile, her hand resting on the back of the chair across from me.

"Thanks, Ruby."

"You're welcome, Hungover," she said teasingly. "Or was that not your name?"

"Very funny," I muttered, but my eyes were smiling. "Please call me Emma, I'd rather not be reminded of last night any more than I already have been."

"Did some stupid things?" she asked suggestively, and when I groaned she leaned over the table with an intrigued look on her face. "Tell me!"

"Uh-uh," I declined and shook my head, my mouth full of the sweet foods.

Not even in a parallel universe would I  _ever_  tell  _anyone_  about last night. It was and would stay a secret. Unless, of course, the mayor decided to make it known for some stupid reason, but my prediction was that she – like me – would rather pretend it never happened.

Ruby looked momentarily disappointed and I swallowed to be able to give her at least something. It didn't hurt to try to get to know some people in this town and she seemed eager to make conversation.

"Take my advice though,  _never_  drink with a pirate."

"Noted," she said and tilted her head, looking curious. "But pirate? Not a lot of those around here, I believe."

"There is one and that's one too many."

I made a face, eliciting a chuckle from the waitress, and then a large group of people suddenly entered the diner.

"I gotta go," Ruby told me and stood upright. "But you have to tell me more about that pirate someday."

"Maybe," I teased with a smirk.

She flashed me a toothy grin and left my table, heading toward the counter.

"See you around, Emma," she called over her shoulder.  
  


* * *

  
It was Wednesday morning and my phone kept ringing, waking me up from a particularly pleasant dream. What time was it even? It felt like I had just went to sleep moments ago. My hand fumbled for the phone at the nightstand, finding it eventually.

" _Shut up_ ," I groaned and didn't bother to keep my eyes open for longer than it took to swipe the green button on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Graham Humbert from the mayor's office. I'm sorry to call this early but we've got a bit of a situation back there. We would like you to fill in for Miss Boyd, if you're still available?"

"What? Is she alright?" I asked worriedly as the news brought me out of my sleepy state, and then I suddenly made the connection. "It's the baby, isn't it?"

"Yeah, her boyfriend just called from the hospital."

"Wow," I said, for lack of other words.

"The miracle of life," Mr Humbert agreed. "So, can you cover for her?"

"I...um... I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," I said hesitantly, thinking about the weekends events.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by the thought of facing the mayor again so soon, even though I still planned to take my revenge on her someday, somehow.

"Oh, how come? Because you're undoubtedly our best option. You know our routines and we don't really have enough staff to train someone new at the moment. We were hoping you would be able to take Miss Boyd's place not only for today, but for her whole parental leave."

Our? We? Did that mean the mayor had approved? And what had he said at the end...?

"Wait, you want me back, like,  _full_ -time?"

"It's still gonna be a temporary employment but yes, full-time."

I thought about this for a moment and came to the conclusion that the pros definitely outweighed the cons. There was no way I would turn down an offer like this just because of some silly drunken misadventure. No, this was actually great news. I would secure an income for a few months and my parents could be kept in the dark about me being fired, they would never have to know. Plus, this was perfect for my payback plans, and I would also be able to continue my attempts to figure the mayor out without coming off as a crazy stalker. Yeah, this was  _awesome_  news.

"I'm in," I said determinedly.

"Congratulations!" Mr Humbert greeted over the phone. "You're officially rehired. We'll talk more soon, can you be at the office in an hour?"

Exactly fifty-nine minutes later, at half past seven, I was let into the great building by a half smiling Mr Humbert. As we walked through the – at this hour – empty lobby I glanced at the morbid painting hanging on its regular place on the wall, noticing the familiarity of the situation. This time, however, there wasn't as much paperwork to do and as soon as I had gotten all my necessary work stuff back I went straight to the top to get started.

It was the first time I was working completely without supervision but I wasn't too anxious about it, cause like both Ashley and Mr Humbert had pointed out I knew the routines by now. My only concern was that I had missed almost two of the morning shift hours and I was a bit bothered by the fact that I was behind schedule and had no one to help me catch up.

Because of my late start I made sure to begin with the mayors office, in case she happened to arrive at eight today. It didn't take me long to finish the room but just as I was getting ready to leave I heard the distinctive sound of someone in heels approaching rapidly through the corridor.

_Click clack click clack._

_Great_. I didn't yet want to face the woman that had both ruined my birthday and then ended up being the one saving me during the bothersome aftermath of my disagreeable coping strategy. My feelings about that hadn't changed since I woke up. I imagined that  _she_  wouldn't be particularly thrilled to encounter me in her office first thing in the morning either, so, what to do?

_Click clack click clack._

Should I leave the room in a hurry and risk bumping into her? Or just pretend to be busy? It wasn't like I had a lot of options. Would what I chose to do even make a difference? The clicking sound stopped and  _oh well_ , now it was too late to do anything anyway.

The door opened and revealed the mayor in a pantsuit, her coat hung over her arm. She was rummaging through her purse and made it two whole steps into the room before noticing me, her head quickly snapping up as she stopped dead in her tracks. Our eyes locked and this was all very much like...like... _in my dream_.

Due to my hasty awakening and unanticipated news this morning I had completely forgotten about it, until now, but it was suddenly all I could think about.

I had dreamt about the mayor. I had dreamt about the fucking mayor. Hell, I had dreamt about  _fucking_  the mayor! Clearly my subliminal self was way ahead of me.

"What are  _you_  doing here?" she questioned vehemently, bringing me – at least partially – back to reality.

So, the humble Mr Humbert had not only acted on his own while rehiring me, he hadn't even informed the mayor that he had done so. Bad move, Mr  _Humbug_.

"I work here," I stated plainly, tugging at the cleaning trolley and my work clothes respectively. "Thought these might give me away..."

Brown eyes glared at me – certainly not amused by my attempt at a joke – and the mayor worked her jaw, gripping her purse a little tighter.

"Since when?" she demanded, the hostility in her voice poorly masked.

"Since about...maybe...fifteen minutes ago?" I estimated.

"And why is that?"

It occurred to me that if she didn't know about  _me_ , perhaps she didn't know about Ashley either.

"Oh, perhaps you haven't heard," I said, "but Ashley went into labour this morning. I'm covering for her."

"No, I hadn't heard that," the brunette said through gritted teeth, a resentful look on her face.

Her voice had become more and more venomous for each reply and I figured  _someone_  at fourth floor was going to regret not enlightening the mayor of the recent changes regarding her staff.

"Well, if you now  _a_ _re_  going to work here, perhaps you should  _stop talking_..." she began threateningly and proceeded into the room, walking straight up to me, "...and consider to actually  _do your job_."

She was standing close, invading my personal space and imperiously looking down at me from the notable height advantage she got from her heels.

This was actually quite similar to how things had played out in that dream of mine and if my mind hadn't been so occupied thinking about what had happened next in it, the mayor's obvious attempt to intimidate me would probably have succeeded better.

 _S_ _he suddenly pushed me down onto her desk and started kissing me forcefully, her hands ripping_ _my clothes_ _off_ _and_ _roaming over my exposed skin,_ was not what happened in real life though. We didn't engage in any furious hate-sex and neither did I try to make that happen. It had just been a silly – but arousing, I'd admit that – dream and I wasn't interested in getting charged for sexual assault.

Also, I was pretty sure it was the  _situation_  I felt drawn to now, if anything, and not  _her_ personally. I mean, it was a common thing to have fantasies about getting down and dirty with your boss in their office. Right? Especially when your boss happened to be aggravated by the mere sight of you and was sexy as hell when she was mad, that could really be a turn on and fire up the mood.  _Wait..._  I realized I was contradicting myself.

Determinedly meeting the mayor's piercing stare, not for a second shifting my gaze away from it, I took a moment to ponder over my actual desires.

This unsympathetic woman  _was_ , evidentially, featuring in my dreams and fantasies. That didn't necessarily mean I wanted anything to do with her in real life, though. I didn't  _like_  her, the fact that she had done one nice thing for me – obviously referring to driving me home, not the false job offer – didn't change that. But, of course, we didn't  _have_ to _like_  each other. It was often easier that way, anyway.

The hitch was, I didn't  _want_  to want someone as loathsome as her. Someone who had fired me, enjoyed it, and now was pissed off because I was back. It was a totally legit reason. Also, I didn't wantto want someone I could never have – because that was just... _frustrating_  – and the way the mayor was looking at me right this moment left little to speculate about.

But.

The way she was looking at me also evoked certain  _urges_ , and no matter how legit any reasons were, no matter how much I didn't  _want_  to want her, I couldn't keep denying the facts forever.

I breathed in a little deeper, finally admitting it to myself.

I wanted Mayor Mills.

In a strictly, exclusively, and purely physical way, that was.

And it really  _was_  frustrating, because I knew nothing would ever happen between us. Even if I overlooked our hostility toward one another, my chances were pretty much zero. She was the mayor and I was, well, _no one_.

The odds were certainly not in my favour and trying to seduce her would – at best – be a waste of my time. But I still couldn't help to think about how I would best go about that task, not when our faces were mere inches apart and it would've been so easy to just...lean in... _and d_ _efinitely loose my job again._

I refrained from glancing down at her lips and swallowed, more or less discreetly. For how long had she even been staring me down now? Was it seconds? Minutes?  _Hours_? Probably not hours, but this was getting ridiculous. True to the mayor's suggestion, I really  _should_  do my job instead of standing here with my never-ending inappropriate thoughts. I had a lot of work ahead of me.

Stubbornly refusing to succumb to her superiority I used my most calculated voice as I finally broke the silence.

 _Sure, I'll do my job, if you do yours,_ I didn't say. I just said "sure", not letting anything other than determination show on my face.

With a dismissive puff of air through her nose the mayor turned on her heel and walked past me to her desk.

That was all? No comment? Did this mean I had won this battle? It didn't exactly feel like a victory. Perhaps it had been a tie? Anyhow, it was certainly time for me to leave.

Not glancing back toward the desk I dragged the cleaning trolley through the room, pulled it over the threshold, and carefully closed the door after me. No matter who had won the staring contest, this run-in hadn't turned out too bad. According to our usual standards I would say that it had actually gone pretty well, considering that no one had gotten  _literally_  run into, or fired, or even yelled at. But not five steps later the door behind me flew open again and the mayor peeked out with narrowed eyes.

"When you see Mr Humbert, send him up here immediately."

I gave a nod, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the poor man. But he  _had_  actually brought this on himself. I just hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.

"What are you gonna do to him?" I wondered, realizing it sounded like I was implying she would punish him physically.

Which...perhaps I was. What did I know about her methods, behind closed doors? I only knew that she liked to spread verbal poison and stare people down.

The mayor rolled her eyes in annoyance and disappeared into her office again, without answering my question. Since she seemed to enjoy firing people I was a little worried for Mr Humbert's sake, but the office needed a chief of staff so she would probably keep him. Hopefully she could forgive him for his mistake, this one time, even though she obviously wasn't the most forgiving of souls.  
  


* * *

  
A couple of hours later I was sitting in the breakroom, sipping on a hot drink from the coffee machine. I hadn't had much time to prepare any food this morning and my stomach was loudly disagreeing with my decision to save the orange I had brought, for lunch. However, it wasn't that kind of hunger my mind was primarily focused on.

Regardless of how hard I tried not to think about it, I kept seeing scenes from my dream replayed in my head, over and over again. The imaginary world was one thing, but in reality that kind of activities had been painfully absent. Perhaps that explained why I was so terribly mantsy all of a sudden? Anyhow, something was clearly up with my hormone levels. This was unbearable.

"I really need to get laid," I groaned to no one in particular, since the room was empty.

I needed to do something before these images in my head drove me crazy and had me do something rash and stupid. It had been a close – rather literally – call earlier in the mayor's office, and since that night with Captain Hooker I didn't trust my impulse control anymore.

"I can help with that."

 _Speak of the devil!_  Killian Jones was exactly the person I  _didn't_  want to talk to right now – or, like, ever again – and I lifted my hot drink to my lips, trying to hide my face deep into the cup.

" _Ugh_ , not you again," I complained.

"Glad to see you too, love," he replied, unfazed as usual. "The Queen changed her mind, huh? I wouldn't have thought it."

"Nope, she still hates me," I said. "But fortunately, for me, Mr Humbert doesn't."

Killian slumped down in the opposite seat across the table and gave me a pondering look.

"So, it's really happening..."

"What is happening?" I questioned, not understanding what he was referring to.

"Humbert straying from his mistress."

I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he had implied something in  _particular_  with his choice of words, or if it was just my hormones in play.

"Please don't tell me they're screwing each other?"

I didn't know if I could handle any more pictures in my head and those I definitely didn't want to have.

"The Queen doesn't  _screw_  people," Killian said with a pointed look. "Screws them over maybe."

I groaned. He hadn't exactly denied it. Why had I even asked?!

"Jealous, are you?"

I glared at his smug face, tensing my jaw, and he burst out laughing.

"I'm just kidding you," he said. "I wouldn't know."

Great, so now I would be stuck with these vaguely possible scenarios in my head forever.

"But I'd bet hundred bucks that at least  _she_  hasn't had any in a while, cause she's been worse than ever lately."

Ashley had said the same thing. What if it actually  _had_  something to do with me? In the worst of ways then, probably.

"You should've been here this Monday," the Irishman continued, my silence not stopping him from elaborating. "I was replacing some flickering lights in her office and she started insulting my home and lifestyle. So far nothing out of the ordinary."

He paused, grinning, and I drank from my now lukewarm cup.

"Then she gave me a lecture about our workplace policies, no drinking on the job, no harassing coworkers-"

My sudden coughing fit drowned out his last words and I tried to get the liquid up from where it certainly didn't belong. Had she told him?!

"You okay there?" he asked and arched an eyebrow.

" _Ahem!_  Yeah..." I said, my hoarse voice telling a different story. "Why would she... Why would she do that?"

Killian shrugged, not seeming too bothered.

"Honestly, I don't know, but she always disapproves of everything I do. Maybe she was just extra cranky that day, for some reason."

I heaved a sigh of relief. She hadn't told him. But she  _had_  given him a lecture, apparently. To think that it had anything to do with me would probably be foolish, she obviously didn't care about me personally. More likely, she was just trying to get to Killian. That was actually one thing we had in common. We didn't like Killian Jones.


	7. Royal Lilies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma seeks a way to satisfy her needs and gets an opportunity to get back at the "Evil Queen".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who might be frustrated with the lack of Regina so far, I just want to say that this story is not only about Swan Queen, even though that's the main focus. Right now, we're still at the beginning of Emma's journey, so bear with me!
> 
> Also, if you google "royal spring lilies" you will get an accurate picture of the bouquet :p

**Royal Lilies**

I did manage to complete my tasks at work on time, because another member of the cleaning staff joined me halfway through my day. On the way home I decided to drop by at Granny's, and not only because my stomach was killing me with hunger. My hormones were still raging and it was long overdue to stop thinking about the mayor and start working on alternative solutions. The only one I kind of knew in this town that weren't male or had just delivered a baby was the waitress, Ruby. I wasn't too hopeful but perhaps, if she wasn't interested herself, she would know someone who knew someone who might be open to the idea. A long shot, yes, but it was worth a try.

I was greeted with a smile and a small wave from Ruby as I entered, and I responded with a smile of my own. The diner was more populated than last time but the small table which I had sat by then was free, so I went over there to claim it. A few minutes later the waitress was coming my way and I searched for any indication that she would be, like, not straight. Her long painted nails didn't exactly inspire hope.

_Optimistic_ , I told myself, glancing down at those endless legs of hers. I needed to be  _optimistic_.

"Back for more waffles?" the brunette asked jokingly.

"Not really," I grinned. "I'm starving, so I need something more substantial. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Well," she said, taking a menu from the small stand at the table and placing it in front of me. "We have plenty of delicious marine dishes, if you're into that kind of thing?"

Was I into fishy things? Depended on what I was eating, I guess. Or whom.  _Focus._

Ruby probably interpreted my silence as denial cause she continued.

"Or, you could try the rabbit stew, it's our own recipe!"

"But they're so-"

I stopped myself, realizing that all animals were  _innocent_.

"Fluffy," I said instead, drawing a chuckle from the waitress.

"I've been at the farm that delivers to us and I can assure you, they live a short but happy life there," she said, and then pointed at another section of the menu. "That's more than I can say about some of these dishes. Granny probably knows, but I have no idea where we get all this stuff from."

"Granny?" I wondered, a bit perplexed. "As in, there's an actual granny owning this place?"

"Yeah, mine," Ruby affirmed with a toothy grin. "And she refuses to be called anything else than 'Granny'. It's like she's never even had a regular name."

"Cool," I said, but Ruby shook her head slightly.

"Not really. I feel kinda stuck here, to be honest. Was planning to go to Boston and everything but then she decided to have a heart attack and ruined my plans."

She noticed my arched brows and looked a bit guilty.

"That sounded terrible, didn't it?" she said and let out a small sigh. "I love Granny and it wasn't her fault, obviously. And she's fine now, it's just that I don't want to leave in case she gets bad again. I guess my grand plans have to wait."

I nodded slowly, thinking of a way to make her feel better about her situation.

"Do you know what I do for a living?" I asked.

"You haven't told," she replied, curiosity in her eyes.

"I sweep floors and scrub toilets, mainly. Actually, I got fired after only two weeks, but I got the job back this morning."

"Sounds...intense?"

"Tell me about it! My boss's boss is, like, literally a pain in the ass. Well, not  _literally_  literally, of course, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she grinned.

I was just thinking that this was actually going pretty well when my phone suddenly rang. The silly tune wasn't exactly flattering and I quickly rejected the call to make it stop. It had just been my mom anyway.

" _Ruby Lucas!_ " called an aggravated voice suddenly from the counter, and the addressed brunette spun around. "You can indulge in private conversions after work hours, but right now you'd better-"

"But Granny," Ruby interrupted, only to be further admonished.

"No 'buts'! There's a  _line_."

Ruby sighed and gave me an apologetic look, dutifully bringing up her notepad.

"Are you ready to order or do you want a few more minutes to decide?" she asked.

"You've convinced me," I said. "I'll go with the rabbit stew."

"Good choice," she commented with a victorious smirk. "And to drink?"

My phone rang again and I made a frustrated grimace while bringing it up from my pocket. A rejected call was a rejected call, couldn't she take a hint?

"Just water, please," I said to Ruby before answering the call. "Hi,  _Mom_."

The waitress left with a knowing look on her face and my mom started showering me with questions in her usual manner.

"Hi! Emma! I haven't heard from you since your birthday, how've you been? Was it alright? You could've come here, you know that you're always welcome, right?"

"I know, but I wanted to do something different this year," I said, and it was so much easier to lie when she couldn't see me. "And it's only been like...five days."

"Yeah, I know, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, a simple text would do just as fine for that," I pointed out.

"But it's not quite the same, is it? Can you blame a mother for wanting to hear her daughter's voice once in a while?"

"Once in a while? You call me almost twice a week!"

"I do not!" she objected. "Just... Once maybe..."

I chuckled silently at her, knowing she would never change. And that was kind of alright, actually. I was just obliged to complain a little because she was my mom.

"So, how've you and Dad been?" I asked, deciding it was time to change the subject.

"Oh, Emma," Mom sighed, and for a split second I worried that something bad had happened. "Your dad is a real Prince Charming sometimes, but he's not really the brightest of them all."

What had he done now...?

"Right, the surprise vacation," I said, recalling what he had told me a while ago.

"The surprise vacation," my mom confirmed. "He said he had already talked to you about it and  _really_? During Easter? And none of you thought that to be a problem? We've always celebrated Easter together, it's tradition! How am I supposed to be able to relax knowing that you're here all alone?"

"You're going to be windsurfing and diving with sharks in the Caribbean Sea, I don't think you're supposed to be relaxed."

Mom continued like she hadn't heard me.

"And what about Easter Dinner? You don't even know how to cook a proper-"

"Hey, no need to insult my cooking!" I cut her off. "Just because I'm no master chef it doesn't mean I'm completely useless. What do you think I'm eating over here? Grilled cheese seven days a week?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"Seriously, Mom, have a little faith in me. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

She sounded very doubtful and I sighed, catching sight of Ruby who was already returning with my food.

"Yes, Mom, I'm  _sure_ ," I assured her, trying to bring the conversation to an end. "I will be perfectly fine celebrating Easter by myself, and now, if you'll excuse me, I have a portion of rabbit stew to devour."

The waitress didn't succeed to completely mask her amusement and I smirked at her as she put the plate and a glass of water in front of me. The stew smelled delicious and I could barely wait to taste it.

"Rabbit stew?" Mom said, dumbfounded.

"Yep, so I have to go now. Bye, Mom, have fun this weekend!"

"But-"

" _Bye!_ "

She muttered a reluctant "bye" and then the conversation was finally over and I could dive into the food.

"Overbearing mother, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," I said with an eye roll, chewing frantically.

"I'm glad I don't have one. Granny is more than enough."

"It can be frustrating at times," I admitted, processing the hint that her mother somehow wasn't in the picture anymore. "Speaking of Granny, won't she be mad at you for 'indulging in private conversations during work hours' again?"

"Nah, she retreated to the back, complaining about a headache," Ruby said with a wolfish grin. "And she was exaggerating quite a bit, the line wasn't really a line, so..."

"So...now you're gonna watch my terrible table manners instead?" I questioned jokingly, demonstratively shoving an overloaded forkful into my mouth.

"Well, I  _am_  curious what you'll think of the stew..."

"It's delicious!" I ensured her.

"...and also," she continued with a smirk, "I couldn't help to hear that you're going to celebrate Easter by yourself."

"Ah, well, you know, it's not the end of the world," I said with a shrug. "I'm mostly just in it for the food anyway."

Ruby let out a chuckle, checking the room for any customers needing service before turning back to me.

"If you don't want to spend it alone, though, I'm going out with some friends Saturday night. You could tag along," she offered. "As for the food, the diner will be open at Sunday, providing our popular Easter Brunch Buffet."

"Are you saying that my Easter is saved?" I questioned with mock astonishment and wide eyes.

Honestly, I was glad for the offer. Spared me the the tricky task of asking for her number, which I technically had already done, and failed.

"Really, it sounds like fun," I said earnestly, "I don't really know anyone in this town so I've not been out much lately."

"It'll be great! And that can be easily remedied, cause I know basically everyone who's worth knowing around here. Your social circle is about to be expanded," she said with a wink.  
  


* * *

  
Flowers. There was a man standing in the lobby when I entered the next day, carrying a bouquet of  _flowers_. He was talking to the receptionist and his jacket read 'Game Of Thorns'.

"Ah, Miss Swan!" the receptionist called as she caught sight of me.

"Yeah?" I replied, a bit surprised she remembered my name.

I recognized her as the one that had served me my first day, but since then we had only exchanged a few polite smiles. The building didn't open up for business until eight and due to me mostly having worked early shifts – which, I couldn't stress it enough, started at fucking  _six_  in the morning! – the lobby had usually been dark and empty when I entered. Today, though, I was scheduled for the noon and evening hours.

"Could you, perhaps, bring these to the top?" the woman requested, gesturing toward the mix of pink, yellow, and peach in the man's hand.

_The top._  Did that mean...? There weren't a lot of offices up there and I frowned quizzically. Who would send flowers to  _her_? Well, there was the one. The one, who had made her really pissed off the day before. The one, who was now invading my mind with unwanted pictures again. But what did I know, the mayor had a son, so why not a husband or a boyfriend? It seemed unlikely, but either way I wanted to find out more about this.

"Sure," I agreed and walked over to the reception.

The man handed over the bouquet to me, as well as a small folded card with 'Mayor Mills' elegantly printed on its front. Probably Mr Humbert then, I assumed, a significant other would most likely have at least  _included_  her first name.

"What kind of flowers are they?" I asked curiously, a cunning plan starting to form in my mind.

"From the best flower shop in town," the man proudly declared and brought attention to the brand on his jacket, "a dozen Royal Spring Lilies."

I nodded in acknowledgement and smiled politely at him, although I wasn't familiar with either the shop or the kind of flowers. Perhaps it had to do with my disinterest for plants, I could barely keep cactuses alive. Which, by the way, was the reason it was the only kind of plants I had in my apartment.

"I should get going, then," I said and glanced at the wall clock, which was half past ten precisely. "My shift starts about...now."

"Of course," the man agreed, "and I have more flowers to deliver. Have a good day!"

"Have a good day!" the receptionist and I replied in unison.

The man and I left in opposite directions and I smiled smugly at the thought of what I was about to do next.  _This might get interesting_ , I contentedly told myself. The Evil Queen would never see it coming. It was time for a little payback.

Sorting out the details of my plan I headed for the top. I couldn't be certain that it would work, of course, but one thing was clear. I needed to make a confident impression, or this would fall flat. With that in mind I went through the usual knocking routine, thinking that the worst scenario possible would be if things got more awkward for me than for her. Since she was already aware of some far more humiliating things I had done, I didn't have that much to lose.

Putting on my best poker face I entered her office, letting the flowers linger behind the door for a moment.

"Miss Swan," the mayor acknowledged.

I pushed the door shut behind me with a smile I hoped didn't look too smug, and her gaze flickered toward the flowers as they came into her view.

"What is this?" she questioned, cocking her head and narrowing her eyes at me.

"From the best flower shop in town," I ceremoniously announced, reciting the flower delivery guy, "a dozen Royal Lilies for Your Mayoral Highness."

I bowed gracefully and held out the bouquet in front of me, and when I straightened again the mayor had taken on a perplexed and slightly annoyed expression.

" _What_ _?_ "

"They're rather pretty, don't you think?" I said, studying the bouquet with an appreciative look as I casually moved closer to her desk.

She didn't answer and I shifted my gaze toward her, pleased with the way she was gritting her teeth in frustration. I could tell that she most of all wanted to snap at me but something was holding her back.

She was  _unsure_.

I had the advantage for once and she  _didn't_  like it. It made her furious to not know what this was about and I was enjoying every second of my sweet revenge.

"No?" I questioned. "Well, that's a bit disappointing."

A bit disappointing for whomever the gifts were from, I didn't specify.

"Miss Swan, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here but I hardly think flowers are going to get you anywhere."

"Hey,  _I_  am not trying to accomplish anything," I declared, careful to stress the  _I_  enough.

The frustrated brunette opened her mouth to reply but stilled as it dawned on her. She pressed her lips tightly together again and the sudden look of comprehension in her eyes confirmed that I had indeed been successful in my attempt to mislead her. I pretended to be surprised.

"You thought they were from me?"

"Of course not!" she snapped. "That's ridiculous."

"Yeah," I agreed,  _ridiculous indeed_. "Flowers are not my style."

The mayor huffed and threw me an annoyed look.

"Good to know," she said, her tone indicating that she didn't at all mean it. "If you're done playing around, perhaps you could put those lilies down and let me get back to work?"

"As you wish," I said and inclined my head.  _Your Majesty_.

Continuing the silly act – just to provoke her even further –I took the last remaining steps toward her desk and placed the gifts on the marble top in an overly humble manner. Then I turned around, leaving her to shoot daggers at my back as I sashayed across the room.

"And Miss Swan?"

Just reaching the door I halted, slowly turning back toward the now, apparently, cool-as-a-cucumber brunette. She even wore a small winning smile and I was almost impressed with how quickly she had regained her composure. Almost. She was a politician, after all.

"Yes, Madame Mayor?"

"Don't be late again."

She had noticed, of course she had. I cursed inwardly and gave a short nod before retreating to the corridor, silently scolding myself. Why hadn't I changed into my work clothes before going to her office? How could I have been so stupid? Some cunning plan, eh... I was struck by a sudden fit of discouragement. Perhaps I should just give up on this whole thing and get used to her always having the last word. But no, I realized, of course I shouldn't give up. That would be like letting her win, and I didn't  _let_  people win just like that. She had yet to see what I was capable of.

And, I reminded myself, up until those last seconds it had been going damn great. With a smirk I recalled the highlights of our conversion, images of the unsettled mayor lingering in my mind. For the briefest of moments I wondered what would've happened if the flowers had actually been from me, but I quickly dismissed the thought. Regardless the intention, good or bad, flowers really  _wasn't_  my style.


	8. Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma makes friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters keep getting longer! :o  
> And no, this is not a crossover, but Mr Gold has another role in this story and this came to mind...keep reading to find out what xD

**Wonderland**

"So, this is  _my_   _pack_!"

I had met up with Ruby outside Granny's to walk to The Rabbit Hole together, and once there she had quickly located her friends.

"Well, most of it anyway," she added with an eye roll. "Emma, this is Lacey, Belle and Margaret."

We exchanged hellos and my gaze flickered between the two first young women, so identical the only way I could tell them apart was by their different outfits. The one in a short sparkly dress, Lacey, eyed me closely as I got squeezed in between Ruby and I-had-already-forgotten-her-name – since I had been more focused on the  _clones_.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

I squinted my eyes slightly at the brunette and her twin, trying to recognize their appearance. Nope, didn't ring a bell.  _Heh_ ,  _bell_...

"I don't think so?" I said with a frown.

"Yes, you were here last Friday!" she suddenly recalled. "With the Irishman, Killian."

 _Gulp_. That explained why she remembered me but I didn't remember her, cause I hadn't been particularly observant that night. I didn't like where this was going. Putting that night behind me seemed to be more difficult than I had first anticipated.

"Do you know him?" I questioned, hoping she wouldn't.

"Not really," she replied. "But I work here quite a lot and he's a frequent visitor."

 _That_  didn't surprise me one bit. I sent up a silent prayer that he would at least not be around tonight.

"Wait,  _he's_ the pirate?" Ruby interjected.

The others looked curiously at us and I gave a forced smile.

"He's the pirate," I confirmed, a bit reluctant.

The look on Ruby's face changed into a mischievous one.

"Did you get to see his boat?" she asked suggestively.

I cringed at her implication. Quite presumptuous now, wasn't she? I could absolutely not let them get the wrong idea, that would be devastating for my gay agenda – yes, obviously I had one – and I also didn't want to get associated with  _him_. Not in any way really, if I could've prevented it, but it was already too late for that so I might as well tell them the truth. After all, nothing  _had_  happened.

"Oh, I did," I stated with a meaningful look, "from the  _outside._ Sorry to disappoint you but...nothing happened. I don't do guys."

It took only a moment before Ruby's eyes lit up in amused realization.

"I  _knew_  it wasn't really a joke!" she said, pointing at me in mock accusation.

I smirked at her, knowing exactly what she was referring to, and tried to read any signs to what she was thinking about it.

"Maybe," I teased and she let out a small laugh.

"Pity Mei Lan isn't here," she then said and sighed. "She would've been thrilled to know she's not the only gay in the village anymore."

The only...? Like, literally? Surely there must be others, or were they all conveniently closeted just because I needed them not to be? I tried not to look disappointed. So much for being optimistic.

"Mei Lan is, like,  _never_  here," Lacey pointed out, not seeming too happy about it. "That healthy bastard is doing some detox thing again and wouldn't even come for the sake of being social."

"What about Aurora? I thought she was actually coming tonight?"

It was Belle who wondered and I noticed that her tone was gentler than her twin's. The woman to my right – whom I still didn't remember the name of – suddenly spoke up.

"She said she was too tired," she informed and I turned my head to take a closer look at her.

She had a sympathetic look on her doll-like face, which was framed with a short raven pixie haircut.

"She's always too tired!" Lacey complained. "Those two are so boring..."

"Well, she's been working a lot of double shifts at the hospital lately, so I think she's excused," Pixie Hair countered, earning a mutter in response from the disgruntled twin.

"Hey, how about I get us something to drink?" Ruby suggested and turned toward me. "What do you want?"

The question was directed to me only since the others already had more or less half full glasses in front of them.

"Uh... Anything that isn't rum?"

Ruby raised her brows inquisitively and I offered a sheepish smile.

"Bad...associations..."

After Ruby returned with our beverages we proceeded to tell stories and share experiences. The topic eventually changed into current love interests and since I didn't have a lot to tell about that I mostly sat quietly and listened. The twins quickly began bantering about some librarian.

"And he's British..." Belle said with dreamy eyes, having gotten more talkative after a few drinks.

"But he's also like ten times older than you!" Lacey asserted and burst out into unrestrained laughter, earning a glare from her sister.

"Your math skills are highly questionable. I'm surprised they let you handle money at all at work."

Lacey huffed in response to the retort but quieted significantly.

"Besides, age doesn't matter," Belle continued seriously. "I know for a fact he isn't married but I think he might have  _someone_  in his life, cause he keeps smiling in a certain way when he reads some of his texts."

This had her twin laughing hard again.

"Mr Grandpa knows how to use a cell phone?!" she said, feigning shock. "Is it from this century even?"

Everyone joined in on the laughter this time, much to Belle's annoyance.

"It's  _Mr Giles_..."

"I know, Belle, I'm sorry," Pixie Hair said with an apologetic pat on her friend's arm. "But it was kind of funny..."

"Yeah, and seriously, Sis, what are you? His stalker?"

Belle looked offended.

"I both work and study there, it's a bit difficult not to notice!" she replied defensively.

Everyone – except perhaps Lacey – agreed that this was a fairly acceptable excuse and a little while later it was Margaret's turn to be grilled instead. Someone had eventually addressed Pixie Hair with her actual name and reminded me of it.

"Okay, so he volunteers at the animal shelter, he's really handsome, and kind, but I haven't exactly dared to speak much with him yet," she revealed, appearing self-conscious. "Only a couple of times when he's been the one to initiate it."

"You won't get to know him if you don't talk to him," Ruby pointed out to her shy friend. "Just say hi and talk about birds or something. You know a lot about birds, right?"

Margaret nodded, not looking convinced, and Ruby reached behind my back to rub her shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll work it out," she promised, and the pixie haired woman gave a small appreciative smile.

"Is this high school or what? You're almost thirty, just go talk to the guy!"

Lacey again, and though I tried not to judge her too quickly she did seem a bit rude and unsupportive at times. Apparently the others thought so too this time, because everyone glared at her until she yielded.

"Well, I guess we all have our issues..."

The table got somewhat quiet for a while, glasses almost empty, and I took a moment to just take in the situation. That comment about someone being 'the only gay in the village' hadn't been exceptionally encouraging and these girls were clearly into guys, but it wasn't that big of a deal, really. Actually, it was pretty nice to finally have some people to just hang out with. I had never had a lot of friends, never really belonged to a crowd, and these people had accepted me as a part of their group just like that. Not only accepted me, but done so gladly.

"Well, that's enough with the chit chat!" Lacey suddenly declared and smacked her palm against the table. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, let's go dance!" Ruby agreed.

Said and done, Ruby took the lead as we gathered ourselves and left the bar. We didn't walk very far, though, just around the corner, and muffled disco music gave me an idea of where we were headed. A grand neon sign above the entrance informed me that the place was called Wonderland and under the main sign was a smaller one that said 'We're all mad here'. I could sense a theme.

"They have the same owner," Lacey told me as if reading my thoughts. "I work here too, sometimes."

Well, that explained it, then.

"Don't get lost and stay off the magic mushrooms," the twin added with a wink before we entered the club and its loud music made talking more of a shouting business.

I silently wondered if this was just a joke about the fairy tale or if there was something more to it, but I didn't have time to ponder since Ruby immediately dragged me onto the dance floor.

"Are you having fun?" she yelled into my ear.

"Yeah, I'm alright!"

"I'll make sure to introduce you to Mei Lan later, she's awesome!"

I grinned and shook my head at the brunette, looking forward to that meeting.

" _You're_  awesome!"  
  


* * *

  
No hangover, no lost memories, and no drunken encounter with the mayor. Well done, self! Only the Easter Buffet at Granny's left to attend to and then the weekend could be deemed a complete success. Well, maybe not  _complete_  success, there was still that little problem with my sexual frustration. Easier to deal with now that I had that promise from Ruby, though, so today I was just going to enjoy some good food.

When I left for the diner I almost forgot to bring the waitress's jacket with me, remembering it just before closing the door to my apartment. The reason I had it, well, I would need to go back to yesterday to explain it.

We had split up after a while, Ruby and Lacey apparently going boy hunting and the other two disappearing into the crowd. Ending up at the bar counter I had tried to hit on approachable girls, only to get rejections and threesome suggestions in return. But hey, kudos for trying, right?

Then Ruby had showed up and asked if I could keep an eye on her jacket, claiming she was being exposed to 'too much hotness', and "sure" I had accepted. Some time later Margaret and Belle had come by to tell me they were going home, and I had decided it was probably time for me to do the same. Finding Ruby had proved to be trickier than expected, though, cause when I bumped into – a fairly drunk – Lacey she told me the other brunette had 'left with some guy'.

"But...doesn't she need her jacket?" I had questioned, a bit concerned. "Her wallet is in here. Do you know this guy she left with?"

"She's been with him before...I think... But don't worry! She has her phone. I'm sure she'll be fine."

I had sent Ruby a text, telling that her belongings were safe and asking if she was, as well. Her reply had come this morning, apologetic and relieved, and she had stated that of course she was  _safe_ , punctuating with a winking smiley. Whatever she had now been insinuating with that, I had an idea or two.

So here I was now, maneuvering my way through the crowded diner, with my eyes set on the waitress and my lips curled upwards in a knowing smirk.

"Emma! My jacket!"

She hurried over and surprised me with a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you so much for looking after my stuff!"

"You're welcome," I said, a little stunned by her unanticipated actions.

Surely I had expected her to be happy to see me, and it wasn't that I minded, not at all. I just wasn't used to this kind of treatment from any other person than my mom.

"I'm sorry I just left yesterday," Ruby apologized, looking abashed. "Not exactly the impression of me I wanted to give you."

"Don't worry about it," I waved it off. "The important thing is that we both had a good time. Cause you had a good time, right?"

Her cheeks reddened, almost matching the crimson highlights in her hair, and she gave a small smile.

"Yeah..." was the only thing she offered.

Since I would gladly be without the details, I didn't probe. A sudden flicker of her gaze then caught my attention.

"See something interesting behind my back?" I questioned jokingly and wiggled my eyebrows once. "Or someone?"

"Just...the mayor," she said with a frown, keeping her voice down. "She keeps staring at us and I swear, I was at her table not five minutes ago! That woman is..."

_The devil disguised as a goddess?_

"Staring? Like, right now?" I inquired, not giving her time to finish her sentence.

Ruby discreetly glanced over my shoulder again and gave an affirmative "uh-huh". I couldn't resist the temptation to turn around, and I did it swiftly enough to catch the mayor averting her gaze. A wicked smile entered my features. She was seated by one of the windows, now promptly looking down at her plate, and was this not the perfect opportunity for round two of my revenge? The diner was rather noisy but I didn't need her to have heard me and Ruby, I just needed her to have seen.

I turned back toward the waitress with a smug expression on my face.

"What is it?" she asked, looking equal parts confused and curious.

"Food!" I demanded, serious at an instant. "I need food, preferably ten minutes ago!"

She gave me an odd look but guided me to a stack of plates, gesturing for me to take one.

"Help yourself," she said, presenting a great amount of appetizing buffet items.

Aware that she had other customers to attend to she began to turn away, but then she stilled and narrowed her eyes at me.

"You will tell me about this later," she decided, her voice determined.

"Later," I promised.

_Much much later._

Keeping an eye on the mayor, so that she wouldn't leave without me noticing, I filled my plate with all kinds of tasty dishes. I decided that I would have to come back for a refill at least once, cause there were too many things I wanted to try. When I was satisfied with my first portion I glanced around to determine the availability of vacant seats, feeling content when I couldn't spot any except from at the mayor's table. Not without reason, I figured, and walked over to her.

"Can I sit here?" I asked casually, earning a disbelieving look, but before she had time to answer I leaned a little closer and lowered my voice. "Or are you going to criticize my choice of partner again?"

"Not in front of my son!" she hissed, just as my gaze fell upon him.

My attempt to toy with her came to an abrupt stop. I had been too busy focusing on the mayor to notice her company.

"Your...son," I managed, amazed by this smaller version of her.

They did look alike, although his skin tone was paler and his eyes and hair not quite as dark as his mother's. Sure, I had seen that photograph of him in her office multiple times but I hadn't exactly studied it in detail.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously, greenish hazel eyes expectantly looking up at me.

"No one you need to worry about," the mayor quickly assured him, before I even had the time to  _think_  of how to introduce myself.

I raised my brows incredulously at her. Worry about me? Please, he was just curious, like most nine-year-olds probably would've been if a stranger asked to sit by their table.

"I'm Emma, and I work for your mother," I settled on telling him. "Who are you?"

I was careful not to look at the mayor and felt, rather than saw, her burning glare at me. Was this really her default mood? Even outside of work, on a holiday? And what about that I'm-a-politician-and-cool-as-a-cucumber facade? Maybe I just brought out the worst in her.

"My name is Henry," the kid replied, and while he did I nonchalantly placed my plate at the table and sat down next to him.

"Miss Swan, I never said-"

"Well, there's nowhere else to sit," I declared, a hint of challenge in my eyes as they darted up to meet hers.

She pursed her lips, expression obscure, and scrutinized me with her gaze for a moment.

"Is that so?" she questioned then, not seeming fully convinced.

"You calling me a liar?"

I prepared for the retort I was sure to come, but it never did. Instead, her gaze flickered to the boy beside me and I figured his presence must be the reason she wasn't halfway through an insult already. For him, it seemed, she was suddenly making a great effort to mask her irritation and be on her best behaviour. A smile that didn't reach her eyes appeared on her face.

"Of course not," she replied in a honeyed voice and purposely turned toward her child. "Henry, are you ready to go?"

His plate was pretty much empty but hers wasn't, and I found her eagerness to leave rather amusing. And, honestly, quite surprising. If I hadn't known any better I would've said she seemed scared of me, which, of course, was ridiculous and obviously not the case.

"Nope," the kid declared and got out of his seat, grinning mischievously as if he knew very well that he was ruining his mother's escape plan. "I'm gonna go get some more!"

The mayor's smile faltered for a moment and in spite of myself I almost felt a bit sorry for her. She was basically stuck here with me – her absolute favourite person on Earth, I was sure – until her son decided he was finished. The fact that he was around was actually proving to be advantageous for me.

It was a good thing that he now was out of earshot, though, because some things were meant for adult ears only. More specifically, in this case, the ears of the woman currently sitting diagonally in front of me, chewing on a piece of roasted lamb while demonstratively avoiding eye contact. My blatant staring wasn't making things any less awkward but I was fascinated by her ability to somehow make even chewing dead animal parts look sexy.

"About Ruby..." I said then, trying to take control again by breaking the silence and picking up where I had been interrupted earlier.

She stilled momentarily before slowly turning her head toward me and swallowing down her current bite. I couldn't quite read her expression but she kept holding my gaze, so I gathered she wasn't totally uninterested.

"Well, you can rest assured," I said in mock consolation. "I didn't sleep with her either."

The mayor looked affronted, her jaw slightly dropped.

"It is  _none_  of my concern whom you are sleeping with or not!" she vehemently asserted, wrinkling her nose as if the mere thought was repulsive.

"Really? Because that's not the impression I got the other week," I pointed out with my brows raised meaningfully. "And was it really necessary to give Killian such a hard time about it? That dimwit didn't even get the message. Not that I enlightened him of it."

"What?"

To my satisfaction I noticed a slight blush creeping up her neck. It could be for a million of reasons, of course, but she  _was_  blushing. My tactics were working.

"Did you think I wouldn't remember?" I questioned, smug smile evident on my lips. "And that he wouldn't even mention it to me?"

She tensed her jaw but didn't say anything, which I could only interpret as confirmation that my assumptions were correct.

"Oh, right," I pretended to recall, a slight bitterness entering my voice. "I wasn't supposed to  _come_   _back_."

The mayor gave an unimpressed huff, her eyes darkening, and there was the woman I knew...

"Why are you  _really_  here, Miss Swan?" she wanted to know, seemingly trying to regain control over the situation.

I frowned at the strange question, thinking it should be pretty obvious.

"Well, why do you  _think_  I'm here?"

The look I received made it clear she wasn't going to answer and I did a slight eye roll.  _Fine then, Madame Mayor._

"Why most people are here, I guess? For the food?"

"I meant here at my table!" she snapped, looking at me like I was a complete idiot.

Well, it wasn't  _my_  fault she had failed to include that particular detail. And, frankly, it was still a stupid question.

"I already told you," I calmly replied. "In case you haven't noticed, this place is crammed. There's nowhere else to sit."

Her gaze suspiciously drifted out over the ocean of faces in the diner, noting that my words were indeed true and that her son was finally returning.

"Very well, then," she reluctantly declared. "You're allowed to stay as long as you can act civilized around my son."

I had to stop myself from laughing at her. Allowed to stay? Who did she think she was? Right _,_ _the_ _mayor,_  I reminded myself. But still. It wasn't like she owned this place.

"I think I'll manage," I said, not without jest, and earned a warning look from her as to remind me of what I had just agreed to.

We proceeded to mostly ignore each other during the rest of the meal and I attempted to focus solely on Henry instead. He proved to be a funny little guy, witty, and rather clever for his age. I recognized a hint of sassiness, that most certainly originated from his mother, but all in all he seemed like a good kid. Either he was raised mostly by his father, or the Evil Queen's parental skills greatly exceeded my expectations.

Despite my decision to ignore her, my gaze constantly found its way to the mayor. She was – aside from being painfully good-looking and silently planning my murder – right in my line of sight every time I looked up from Henry.

The boy finished his plate too quickly for my liking, I would gladly have chatted with him for a while longer, but considering all the – unintentional, very unintentional – glances I was failing to keep from his mother it was probably for the best. Not that he seemed to be aware of them, which was good since I had masked every one of them with a look of resentment. I couldn't have her thinking I was  _attracted_  to her or anything, now could I? She would use it against me, no doubt.

Those resentful looks were starting to feel a bit inconvenient, though, because it wasn't like I actually  _hated_  her. If I had I would definitely have chosen to sit elsewhere, overfull diner or not. There were very few people on this earth whom I truly hated, but they all had one thing in common: they weren't worthy of my attention. They weren't worthy of my time, my revenge, or my resentment. They were nothing. Evidentially, the mayor wasn't one of those people, cause she sure hell was something.

I was enjoying my payback, I really was. It had lessened my anger toward her and restored some of the balance between us, even though there had never really been a balance to begin with since I had made a fool out of myself from day one. But the fact that she hadn't struck back yet made me wonder if perhaps it was time to take a break from this war thing. I wasn't one to antagonize others just for fun, I needed weighty reasons to do so, and right now the mayor wasn't exactly giving me any. It seemed unlikely that she didn't  _want_  to fight back, so I figured she had yet to find out a way how to. Until she did, well... Ceasefire?

Embracing my newest decision – and proving my ability to be civilized – I offered both my supposed dining  _pals_  a polite smile as they stood.

"Happy Easter, you two!" I said, earning a sunny smile from Henry and total indifference from the mayor.

"Happy Easter, Emma, it was nice to meet you!"

"It was nice to meet you too, Henry," I said earnestly.

"Goodbye, Swan," the mayor said plainly, without even looking at me.

She put her hand behind her son's back and almost shoved him toward the exit, because it really was  _that_  terrible for her to be in my presence. Right?

"Goodbye, Mills," I replied equally plainly, not sure if she would hear me since she was already halfway to the door.

Maybe she did hear, because just before following Henry through the exit she shot me one final glance. It lasted merely a second but felt familiar somehow, although I couldn't quite place it. Then she was gone.


	9. After the After Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma learns a thing or two about the mayor and keeps speaking without thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I struggled with writer's block for a week due to things happening in my life, that's why this is a little late. It's quite short as well, but it contains all the scenes I had planned for it, so, oh well xD
> 
> And yay! Adding the 23 subscribers this story has here, to the 80 followers it has on FF.net (assuming it's different people), makes it over a 100 now! I'm so happy that you seem to like my fic :D
> 
> Merry Christmas to you all! ^_^

**After the After Hours**

Ruby immediately hurried over to me, busting with questions, under the guise of picking up dirty tableware.

"Oh my God, Emma, why did you sit with _her_?"

"Well, there was an actual empty seat here?" I tried.

It wasn't the whole truth but I was reluctant to reveal the other reason behind my choice of dining company. I wasn't even sure how to explain it. Saying nothing seemed like the easiest option.

"But you could've just asked me, I would gladly have squeezed you in with some nice people," Ruby gently admonished.

"Her kid seems nice," I said, feeling an urge to defend him.

The mayor was apparently about as popular here as at the office but her son shouldn't have to suffer because of it. The waitress let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, he's the sweetest kid, but... No one around here interacts with the mayor unless they absolutely have to. I'm sure you understand why, taken that you just endured half a meal with her."

She gave me a meaningful look which I responded to with a vaguely affirmative nod. The mayor had actually been pretty tame today, especially in comparison to her usual office demeanour, but I knew things would've been different if Henry hadn't been here. She probably would've left the very moment I voiced my not so appropriate comments.

Thinking more closely about what Ruby had just said, I found myself wondering how this infamous woman had come to be in such a powerful position.

"But if you all dislike her so much, why did you elect her mayor?"

"Well, first of all, not everyone has to put up with her snappish attitude on a regular basis. Most people only know her public persona and that's a rather good one, I'd say. She knows how to put on a show. Pity she doesn't have that show going on more often cause she'd be a lot more pleasant to deal with then."

But neither of them was her true self, I thought. The haughtiness and the false smiles, they were both just different facades. Different layers. I hadn't imagined that genuine moment in her office last week, somewhere deep down there ought to be a real and loving human in her. She clearly cared for her son. Was I actually defending her in my mind? It needed to stop. Her actions and words were still hers, and they were rarely kind.

"To begin from the beginning, our former mayor was getting old and had decided to retire," Ruby continued. "There weren't many contestants to take his place and most of them were pretty bland, except for Regina Mills. She was fairly young but _so_ confident, coming from this renowned New York family. They threw one hell of a campaign and she totally crushed the competition. Heck, even _I_ voted for her! Then she got reelected last fall because, well, no one even tried to run against her..."

This meant the mayor first got elected over four years ago. Four years, and she had been like this all that time?

"Anyway, she's done well with the town, nothing to complain about there," the waitress concluded. "But personally? Just do yourself a favour and try to stay out of her way, because _trust me_ , you don't want to get on her bad side."

If only she had known...  
  


* * *

  
My first 40-hour work week at the office turned out pretty okay, actually. I was mostly able to avoid Hooker and his irritating comments, and the mayor appeared content with giving me occasional inhospitable looks whenever she spotted me. No vengeful moves were made. For my own behalf, I settled on ignoring her, sneaking glances only when she wasn't looking.

However, when those forty hours had passed, I was still sitting on the floor outside one of the smaller conference rooms, resting my head against the wall. My shift was technically over but this last meeting seemed to be going on forever. I had to wait and finish up, since it was the last day before the weekend. Who would even order a meeting like this on a _Friday night_? The question was not difficult to answer, it seemed likely that the mayor would enjoy to trap her poor employees late at work on the day they wanted to go home most of all. Perhaps this was part of my punishment?

I tiredly closed my eyes, trying to pick up some clues on what was going on in the room behind me. From the way their voices were raised I could tell that they were disagreeing about something – which probably was the reason it was taking so long – but I couldn't distinguish their words. Then they suddenly quieted, the following sound of chairs scraping against floor being like music to my ears. Finally!

The door opened and I quickly got up on my feet and grabbed my cleaning trolley with both hands. I let the small group of businessmen exit before I stepped into the room, noticing a familiar figure sitting by the far end of the table. She was propped up on her elbows, forehead resting in her palms, and I heard her let out a deep sigh.

"Why does everybody hate me?"

I was momentarily confused by the unexpected question, even more so by the whiney tone it had been asked in, but then I realized that she probably wasn't even aware of my presence. Unable to keep myself from replying, I pulled the trolley over the threshold.

"Well, that's not...entirely true," I corrected.

The mayor looked up, her initial surprise quickly replaced by a sarcastic smile.

"And you would know, because you have _such_ insight in my life, Miss Swan."

"Mr Humbert doesn't hate you," I pointed out with a shrug, getting started with wiping the table.

I didn't need any insight in her life to tell that the chief of staff had feelings for her, after being given the information I had definitely noticed it myself. His eyes betrayed him, and the way he talked about her... He seemed blind to her faults. Also, as I had found out, the flowers had indeed been an apologetic gesture from him. She practically had his heart in her hands, free to do whatever she pleased with it.

The way she now groaned and rolled her eyes didn't indicate that she was opting for any 'happily ever after' with him, though, and if I wasn't mistaken, it was also a hint that nothing was going on between them.

"Well, he'd be the only one," she muttered.

I smirked, recognizing her reaction too well. I had had a fair share of unwanted attention from males myself, Hooker being my latest pursuer. He was annoying, yet to say rude, and he really _hadn't_ gotten the mayor's message. He just wouldn't accept that there were plenty of other people – _females_ – whom I would rather do, one of them sharing airspace with me right now.

"I don't hate you."

I held my breath for a few seconds, focusing very hard on my hand's movements on the table. Had those words really come out of my mouth? I dared a quick glance at the mayor and her questioning look confirmed my suspicions. Dammit, couldn't I have mentioned Henry instead? And why was I trying to comfort her? Pretending to seem disinterested in any reply she might give me I continued with my task, steadily working my way toward her.

"Really? Because that's not the impression I got the other week."

That was...she was stealing my lines.

"Or this week, for that matter. The signs are pretty obvious."

"Well, maybe you're reading them wrong," I retorted, immediately regretting my choice of words at her quizzically raised brows.

If I didn't watch my tongue she would figure it all out and that would give her a powerful weapon against me. I could not let that happen.

"I'm just not much for hating people," I said airily, trying to shrug it off.

But she didn't let me get away that easily.

"Not even when they fire you just for the satisfaction of bringing forth that devastated look on your face?" she questioned calculatingly and my eyes snapped back toward her.

Was she being serious? She couldn't be _that_ vicious, she just couldn't. I _had_ gotten the job back, after all, and even though it hadn't been her doing she had at least let me keep it this time. I had mostly, _mostly,_ made peace with the firing by now but there was one thing that still bothered me. I wondered if she had known...

"On my birthday," I said flatly, not letting any emotions show.

Her brows furrowed.

"It was your birthday?"

"It was," I confirmed, and a smug smile appeared on her face.

"Too bad I didn't know. Would've made it even more satisfactory."

I pressed my lips to a thin line and shot her a dark look, not finding her joke particularly funny. If it had even been a joke. Why was I even trying to be nice? It was obviously not working.

"You know, I kinda got the impression you _didn't_ want everyone to hate you," I said sharply. "Guess I was wrong."

"It's not that simple."

"Isn't it? Isn't it, in fact, _that_ _simple_?" I shot back. "Ever heard of the Golden Rule? 'Treat others the way you want to be treated'? Maybe if you tried being nice to people they would be nice back."

"You clearly have no idea what you're talking about," she scoffed. "You don't know me, and you don't know what it's like to be the mayor and on top of that a single mother every other week. To make it all work. Sometimes I wonder which would actually be harder, being a full-time single parent or, like now, just see my son one week at the time. I mean, when he's not home I-"

She abruptly quit her rant, as if she had said too much, and attached a reassuring – but not convincing – smile to her lips.

"I'm fine," she declared as she arose from her seat, grabbing her things. "And this is none of your business."

Then she promptly walked out of the room, thereby ending the conversation.

I didn't move for quite some time, just stood there dumbfounded while trying to sort things out in my mind. Not for a second did I believe she was _fine_. This thing with her son obviously troubled her and it explained some of her irrational behaviour. But not everything. It didn't explain everything.

Confusedly shaking my head I resumed cleaning. I would probably never fully get to know what was going on behind those dark brown eyes, but my curiosity was growing for each passing day.  
  


* * *

  
When I was exiting the building later that evening, a single black car in the office parking lot caught my attention. I stopped with my hand at the door handle, furrowing my brows. The unmistakable top modern Mercedes-Benz was parked close to the entrance, as usual, but it shouldn't still be there. Why hadn't she left yet? I could think of exactly zero reasons for anyone to stay even _after_ the after hours.

Unable to ignore my sense of duty, I gave a sigh and reluctantly went back inside. Maybe she had suffered a fatal heart attack and Storybrooke was now finally free from her cruel regiment? I chuckled quietly to myself as I entered one of the elevators but then felt a bit guilty. Ruby had made it clear that she was good for the town and that most residents were unaffected by her unfriendly manners.

The sun had just settled below the horizon, leaving the unlit building dim and gloomy, but I didn't bother to turn the lights on. It wasn't completely dark and I knew my way around. A faint glow was coming from the windows in the mayor's office door and peering through them I saw her sitting in the light of her desk lamp, gazing far into space. She startled when I tapped at the glass and her eyes shot to the door.

"Who's there?"

Her tone was wary and I realized she probably couldn't see me very well, at the most distinguish a murky shadow. Right outside her door. For all she knew I could be a rapist or a serial killer as well as anyone else.

"It's just me!" I called reassuringly.

"Swan?"

"Yeah," I said and entered without further encouragement.

"Well, just...barge in," she muttered with an eye roll.

"What are you still doing here?" I questioned, ignoring her comment.

"I could ask you the same."

"Well, _I_ just finished working," I informed her. "Then I noticed your car was still here and found it a bit odd. I mean, it's Friday. Shouldn't you be home with, like..."

She tensed and I trailed off, realizing I was breaching that sensitive topic again. No need to rub salt in the wounds of someone who was unpleasant to deal with in the first place.

"My son?" she finished my sentence, her tone dangerous. "Henry is with his _father_ until next Friday."

"Oh," I said, unsure of how to respond. "I'm sorry."

She gave me a look of disbelief.

"You? Are _sorry_?"

"Yeah, I mean... It must be difficult."

The disbelief lingered on her face for a bit but then she pursed her lips and straightened in her chair, her expression stern.

"What is it that you want, Miss Swan?"

"I don't..." I began confusedly, frowning.

"Well, you're not playing nice for no reason, are you? Hardly your... _style_."

Right, I guessed she had reason to doubt my sincerity. But I was not here to play pranks on her this time.

"Look, I just went back to make sure you hadn't died or anything, okay?"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously while she seemed to contemplate this.

"So you're not, let's say, trying hitch a ride home again?"

"No," I said defensively, because that was absolutely _not_ what I was doing.

"Good, cause you're not getting any."

 _Sex_ , my mind immediately took the liberty to translate it to. _I'm not getting any sex...with her._ Unable to conceal my amusement I averted my gaze and licked my smiling lips. A different kind of ride, that.

"What?" the mayor demanded.

"Nothing," I hurried to say with feigned innocence and cleared my throat. "I'll...get myself off then."

I turned toward the door but froze almost instantly, mortified. Had I just...? _No_. What the hell was wrong with me tonight? First I had blurted out that I didn't hate her, then that maybe she was reading the signs wrong, and now _this_? The part of my brain that controlled my speech was clearly and severely malfunctioning.

"Th-the premises," I stuttered in an attempt to remedy my dreadful blunder, awkwardly turning to face her again. "Get myself off the premises..."

The mayor looked unimpressed, her brows arched, and I tried an alleviating smile.

"Bye!"

Then I fled the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to post chapter ten on January 1st but Christmas celebration might steal away my time, so in case I won't make it: Happy New Year!


	10. The Spring Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has never been one to back down from a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wait is over! I'm really sorry for the delay but I got another fic in my head (it was supposed to be a oneshot but got longer, most of it is finished now though, so it will probably not interfere much more with this!) and I couldn't resist to write it. To make up some for this I'm intending to upload chapter 11 next week, but as usual I'm not making any promises. 
> 
> I've updated the introduction / first AN in chapter 1 so would be great if you all could take a look at that. It's about trigger warnings for future chapters, not much of that yet though :) 
> 
> This is also strategically posted today because it's  
> SWAN QUEEN WEEK 2016 (Winter)  
> and the deadly sin for today (day 6) is:  
> ENVY (in the sense of jealousy)

**The Spring Gathering**

I stood right where the beach met the forest, waiting for Ruby. She should be here by now. Perhaps I had misunderstood her directions? But there was a map here, showing different jogging tracks and which colour markings to follow, so it should be the right place. She had probably just overslept. Great. I had gotten up early on a Sunday morning for nothing. Well, not nothing, I could still run alone, but Ruby had said she had a surprise for me and now I wouldn't get to know what it was.

"Hi, you must be Emma."

I spun around and found myself face to face with a pretty Asian woman, slightly taller than myself and sporting a red and black sweat suit. The sides of her head were shaved while the rest of her raven hair was long, pulled back and loosely braided into a single braid.

"Um, yeah," I replied with a frown. "How-"

Realization then hit me. This must be _her_.

"I'm Mei Lan, a friend of Ruby's," the girl introduced herself, keeping her expressing serious. "I believe you were expecting her?"

"Well, I _was_ ," I said, narrowing my gaze. "Now I'm beginning to suspect she had other plans for this meeting."

The young woman in front of me didn't exactly smile, but she got an amused glint in her eyes.

"It appears so," she agreed. "This is such a typical Ruby thing to do."

"She didn't tell you either?" I asked, and Mei Lan shook her head. "But then how did you know who I was?"

"I called Ruby to inform her I was gonna be late and by her tone I could tell she wasn't even out of bed yet, so I got angry with her and she had to explain."

"Well... You said this was typical for her, does she play matchmaker a lot?"

"It's not the first time," Mei Lan admitted. "Every now and then she gets this idea that I need to get together with someone. Or, you know, at least give it a try."

"And you don't want that," I concluded, since she didn't sound overly thrilled.

"I mean, it's still nice to meet new people," she assured me, probably sensing my disappointment. "But I'm not really looking for a relationship. Ruby and I are pretty close but she just doesn't get that."

"Well, honestly I'm not much for relationships either," I revealed. "At least not romantic ones. I've learned the hard way to avoid getting feelings involved."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I totally get you, but I don't really... You know... I'm still waiting for her."

As bad news as this was for my sexual life it actually got me quite hopeful. It suggested that there were indeed more gay people out there, somewhere in this town, and most likely I would be able to find them. Find them, and _fuck their brains out_ , I added, frustrated as an image of the mayor flashed through my mind. If only...

"Then I wish you the best of luck," I said earnestly. "Do you still want to run, though? I might get lost otherwise."

Mei Lan smiled at my playful tone and put her hands in her pockets, her posture confident.

"Sure. Let's see if you can keep up with me."

"Yeah, let's see that," I accepted the challenge.

It had been a while since running had been a part of my regular exercise routine but to my joy I hadn't lost too much stamina. Probably thanks to my other training.

We jogged quietly, our breaths and the rhythmic beating of shoes against dirt being the only sounds breaking the silence. Except the birds, of course, but I was more focused on not falling behind Mei Lan. After what felt like an eternity she finally slowed down to a walk, giving me a pleased look.

"Not bad," she admitted.

"I try to keep in shape," I panted out, tightening the knot of the sweatshirt sitting around my waist.

"It shows. You have nice arms."

I perked up, thrilled by the compliment. Good to know my training was paying off **.**

"Thanks! You don't look so bad yourself," I told the other woman.

"Well, I'm a personal trainer, so it's kind of important for my image."

So, a personal trainer had just complimented my arms. This day was progressing from acceptable to good pretty fast.

"Cool!" I said enthusiastically, then mentally slapped myself because it sounded so terribly awkward.

Was I not, in fact, twenty-six years old? Did I have to sound like a stupid teenager? Mei Lan gave me one of her rare smiles, though.

"I love my job. What do you do for a living?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, um, I clean offices, basically. Can't say I love it, but it pays the bills."

"Nothing wrong with that. What would you like to do?"

I thought about my education, how my dad hated to see my 'potential go to waste'. I had been so motivated during my studies, fuelled by recent happenings in my life, but after graduating and getting my certification I kind of lost my drive. When I didn't even make it as far as to job interviews I started second-guessing myself, whether I was really cut out for this profession anyway, because I'd always been more of a practical person. But I was living with my parents again, for all four years of studies, and just needed to get away. Which brought me to Storybrooke, of all places.

"I'm actually a paralegal," I said to the young woman walking beside me, as we approached the spot where we had met earlier. "But I don't know if that's my dream job. I just wanted to become a part of bringing justice to the world, you know."

"That sounds honourable. And there are many different ways to achieve what you want, I'm sure you're gonna find your calling."

She was probably right and it wasn't like I was in _that_ much of a hurry. For now the most pressing issue was not work related. Okay, scratch that, it was totally work related. I didn't look forward to tomorrow when I would have to deal with the repercussions of my thoughtless comments Friday night.  
  


* * *

  
Monday at work was, unsurprisingly, an awkward business. Though there had been days when I hadn't spotted the mayor even once, this wasn't one of them. When I noticed her in the other end of a corridor I was cleaning, I quickly looked down at the floor and prayed she wouldn't come my way. Then I heard the clicking of her heels and swallowed thickly. If I didn't look I would be fine, right?

"Good morning, Miss Swan."

My head snapped up, and _crap_ , she was smirking at me. It was rather discreet but I could tell she was extremely smug behind her restrained facade, and did her hips really sway that much normally? There was no doubt, _no_ _doubt_ , that she was mocking me for what had happened Friday night.

"Good morning, Madame Mayor," I said, trying to sound unfazed, and watched her smirk grow to a self-content smile as she turned her gaze forward again and strutted past me with her head high.

I almost expected her to call over her shoulder for me to stop staring at her ass, but fortunately – cause I was staring – she didn't. I sighed and closed my eyes, thinking that this was almost worse than when she had been simply hostile. At least then I had known what to expect and I had learnt to deal with it. This was different. If she hadn't been my boss I might've had an idea or two how to proceed, but now... It was beyond frustrating.

It became Tuesday and this new dynamic prevailed. I was riding the elevator with my cleaning trolley – as I did several times a day – and there she was, as the doors opened, the corner of her mouth lifting ever so slightly.

"Miss Swan."

"Madame Mayor."

A couple of seconds passed in complete stillness as I mused over this new tone of hers. I may also have raked my eyes over her flawless appearance – purely on instinct, of course – and I may not have been very subtle about it.

"Did you forget how to move?"

Her remark shook me out of my stupor and I quickly exited the elevator, cheeks ablaze. _Perfect, just perfect!_ God, my lack of subtlety was not making this any better. Squaring my shoulders I made an effort to at least _look_ confident as I walked away.

Wednesday started out much better. The mayor was apparently having a bad day and strangely enough I was relieved. No smirks. No looks. No games. She lashed out at me once and I had no trouble coming up with a retort. Afterwards I smiled to myself, finding her frantic outburst rather entertaining. I hadn't even done anything wrong, just happened to be in her way when she needed someone to take out her anger on.

As the hours ticked by, though, I began to feel a bit nervous. Tonight was going to be a special night and I didn't want to screw up. There was this spring gathering thing coming up and I didn't know what to wear. Everyone in the office, including the maintenance and cleaning staff, was invited and I felt as if my suit would be too much. I didn't own any appropriate dresses – in fact, I barely owned any dresses at all – and settled on something I hoped would help me fit in acceptably.

I had heard a few different versions of what this party actually involved but everyone had seemed to agree that there was a number of free drinks involved and that it was going to be held at the fancy bar in town. Apparently there only was one.

Like most places in Storybrooke this wasn't very far and I decided to leave the Pug at home. Really had to do something about it's poor shape soon. When I had just a couple of blocks left to walk a certain Irishman suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Swan!" he greeted loudly and put what looked like a pocket flask inside his coat, striding up to me. "What a pleasure!"

"Hardly," I huffed and raised my eyebrows disapprovingly. "Are you bringing your own booze?"

"Why, of course!" he exclaimed. "The office only pays for two drinks and this place is pricey as hell. I never really go here except for these parties."

"So, two is the correct amount?" I asked, deciding to ignore his questionable drinking habits. "I've heard a lot of different facts."

"Well, some people get special treatment. You don't think the mayor actually has to pay for anything, do you?"

"Probably not..."

He opened the door for me and I stepped inside with an eye roll at the gesture. Most people seemed to be here already, mingling in the open space of the bar with drink in hand, and I realized that I had probably underdressed. _Crap_. But oh well, nothing to do about that now.

Mr Glass, the PR manager, was standing nearby with Mr Humbert, both speaking with the mayor. I didn't know what annoyed me the most. The mayor making normal polite conversation with them – something I had yet to experience – or the very fact that it made me feel...well, _jealous_. She was probably just putting on a show but at least she didn't look like she would rip their heads of any time soon.

"Do you care to join me for our first drink?" I heard an accented voice in my ear and felt an arm being put casually around my shoulders. "Well, _your_ first, anyway."

I was going to flat out refuse and swat his arm away but then the mayor suddenly caught sight of me, her smile faltering for an endless second. She quickly regained her composure though, shifting focus back to her company, but her increased tension didn't pass me by unnoticed. Perhaps I was being childish but if it upset Mayor Mills, sure, I could put up with spending some time with Captain Hooker.

"I would say no but what the hell."

"Great!"

I let myself be guided toward the bar counter and refrained from looking back until I got there, highly disappointed when I saw that the mayor was facing away from me. All in vain, then. I had agreed to drink with Killian for nothing. Probably served me right, it had been a stupid idea anyway.

"So, any luck with solving that little problem of yours?" the Irishman asked as soon as he got a glass in his hand.

"Problem? What problem?"

"Your lack of sex," he clarified without ceremony. "You've expressed trouble in that department."

That was _not_ something I'd like to be common knowledge among the office employees and I quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard, but luckily no one seemed to be paying attention to us.

"Are you seriously _still_ trying to hook up with me?" I questioned disbelievingly, annoyed and astonished at once.

"Just asking questions," he said innocently and passed me my drink from the bartender.

I accepted it almost suspiciously but there was no way he could have done anything to it.

"Well, let's keep the questions at a less intimate level, then."

"Sure," he nonchalantly agreed and took a swig of his – of bloody course – rum. "How's it going with the Queen? Any new gruesome stories to share?"

"Don't get me started," I groaned. "You know, I think she actually enjoys making people suffer. It's like she feeds on it. When she's being mean she, like, glows in a certain way, and-"

I quieted, realizing Killian was giving me a strange look.

"She does! Don't tell me I'm the only one who's noticed."

"You're putting _way_ too much thought into this, lass. Let's just agree she's the source of all evil ever born, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever," I muttered, because _really_ , that was quite the exaggeration.

She was not the source of _all_ evil ever born, just maybe twenty percent or so. And was I really the only one noticing that glow? Or did she only enjoy being mean to me? That could be it. Or not. _Ugh._ Killian was probably right, I was putting too much thought into this.

Groaning again I took a sip of my drink. Some party, huh? Talking shit about my boss and spending time with someone I actually disliked more than her. Nope, this wouldn't do.

"Do you mind?" I said, gesturing toward the crowd. "I'd like to talk to some other people."

"Go ahead, darling. I'll find you later."

I gave him a dark look for the pet name and mumbled a fairly audible "I hope not" as I moved away from the bar counter. This was my chance to get to know the other office employees a little better, in a quite different setting, and I might as well take it.

Two hours of – I'd like to say successful – mingling later the Irishman was following me around again.

"Do you _have_ to sit here?" I protested when he flopped down beside me on the couch I had just claimed.

"These people don't know how to drink properly!" he complained, making a sweeping gesture toward the others. "Leroy doesn't even bother to come to these events because they tend to be so bloody boring."

"I don't know about your definition of 'proper drinking' but... You do realize that we're kind of at work, in a way, right?" I pointed out. "Our bosses are here."

"Exactly, and that's why you should come with me to The Rabbit Hole instead."

"Forget it, I'm _not_ getting drunk with you again," I asserted. "Ever!"

"That's a little harsh."

"No, it's not, and I mean it. Heck, I'd rather take the mayor's insults for an hour than come with you to that place."

"Careful, love," he warned with a smug expression. "You may be asked to prove it."

"You don't think I'm being serious?" I questioned, challenge in my eyes.

I was _completely_ serious. The choice between them was easy, because with _her_ I at least had something nice to look at. Also, she wouldn't come after me like some sticky glue if I left, that was more _his_ thing.

"Oh, it's not that," the Irishman explained importantly, lowering his voice slightly. "I just don't think you'll actually get her to talk to you. At all. I've been working here long enough to know her habits and right now she's in 'leave me alone mode' at the bar counter."

I turned my head to see for myself and let my gaze trail over the counter, finding the mayor sitting by the far end right next to the wall. She was looking down at her empty glass, twisting it slowly, and people kept their distance as if she was surrounded by an invisible force field. Killian seemed to be right, which made this rather troublesome. I was not one to back down from a challenge.

"I bet that I can," I said determinedly, facing the Irishman again.

He raised his brows but then gave me a smug smile.

"Self-confident are we? I'll give you fifty bucks if you manage to keep a conversion going for more than _ten_ _minutes_ ," he promised. "But, if you fail, you'll accompany me to The Rabbit Hole."

"Deal!" I accepted and got up before I had the time to think better of it.

This was an even more stupid idea than my previous one but Killian _had_ to be proved wrong. Or did he? What was actually at stake here? Was it worth to worsen my already bad relationship with the mayor just to prove a point? It wasn't without hesitation I approached the withdrawn woman, but if I was going to do this I was going to do it properly.


	11. Lipstick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma briefly wonders what the definition of a conversation actually is, and there's just something about the mayor's lips tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must once again realize that all I can do is keep writing and the chapters will be finished when they are finished. My beta moved last week, as well, so I guess things will always happen. Anyway, here's how the bet played out!

**Lipstick**

"Hello!" I greeted briskly and hopped onto the bar stool next to the mayor, causing her to whip her head around with a mix of surprise and annoyance on her face.

"Miss Swan," she greeted curtly before returning to her previous position. "What an unpleasant surprise."

"You're welcome," I said, trying to keep my voice light and casual despite the other woman's sour response.

I waited for a moment but other than her jaw muscles tensing she didn't further acknowledge my presence. Ten minutes. I just needed to get her to talk to me for ten minutes.

"So, are you, um...having fun?"

Jesus Christ, if that was the best I could do I might as well give up already.

" _Ahem,_ stupid question," I admitted. "I just thought you looked a little lonely, sitting here all by yourself."

Although it wasn't the reason I had joined her, it wasn't a lie.

"Being alone doesn't equal being lonely," the brunette pointed out dryly, her eyes still set at the empty glass in front of her. "Did it cross your mind that the reason I'm sitting by myself might be because I actually _want_ to be alone?"

"I thought about that possibility, yeah," I said truthfully. "But in that case, why don't you just leave?"

She was always doing as she pleased, so why would this be any different? What could possibly be keeping her here? She huffed before answering.

"I'm the mayor, I don't _just_ _leave_ whenever I feel like it."

"Why not?" I asked, confounded by her words. "I thought that was one of the perks of being top dog?"

At this she turned to look at me again, but, somehow, her eyes were different from before.

"Believe it or not, Miss Swan, but my power has limits. I don't rule over social norms. I'm expected to be here, to socialize, and right now I'm just taking a break from all these pointless conversations. Besides, as long as I stay the backbiting is kept at a minimum."

She demonstratively shifted her gaze back to the counter and I didn't know what amazed me the most, the revelations or her sudden candidness. I also felt a tiny twinge of guilt from what Killian and I had said about her before, but with the attitude she usually displayed she could hardly blame us.

"Well, that does _indeed_ not sound particularly fun," I said, feeling...

Yeah, what? _Sympathy_ for her? That was certainly new. And totally uncalled for. Did I have to remind myself, once again, that this was the _Evil Queen_ and source of twenty percent of all evil ever born?

"I guess I'll leave you to it then," I said, realizing my mistake the moment the words left my mouth.

 _Crap_. I quickly glanced over at the Irishman, who raised an expectant brow. The mayor and I couldn't possibly have been talking for more than two minutes, if this faltering exchange even counted as a conversation. With a heavy heart I began to slide off my seat.

"Back to Mr Guyliner?" the mayor scoffed suddenly, causing me to stop and snap around again.

Her upper lip was curled in disgust, bringing my attention to the scar she had there. Not for the first time did I wonder how she had gotten it, but she had asked me a question and I should focus on answering it.

Guyliner, that would be Killian. She wasn't hiding her contempt for the man any more than usual and I could only assume that seeing him with me had indeed served its purpose. Perhaps I still had a chance to get those fifty bucks.

"Not necessarily," I tentatively replied, shifting back into position on the bar stool. "I just...got the impression you wanted me to leave?"

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes in her usual manner, then cast down her eyes with a sigh.

"No, that's alright," she said, a softened expression on her face.

Alright? _Alright_? Had the mayor really just, kind of, _invited_ me to stay? And _chat_ with her? Was she drunk or something?! It hit me then, with sudden realization, that she actually might be. Not _drunk_ drunk, obviously, because she seemed perfectly coherent and her rudeness had been fairly intact, until now. But something was definitely off. This was not normal for her.

Since she wasn't looking I let my gaze drop slightly, continuing to study that scar of hers a little closer. It was mostly prominent above – and not on – her actual lip, possibly disguised by the plum lipstick she was wearing tonight. The shade was one of her darker ones, making great contrast to her skin, and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to kiss her, if the scar would-

"At least you're not hitting on me."

"Of course not!" I blurted out, my eyes snapping up to meet hers. "I mean, uh, _right_ , I'm not."

My cheeks heated up as I realized she had caught me staring.

"What, I'm not your type?" she teased.

I gulped. How could I have forgotten about her new tactic to intimidate me? But I was going to play it cool, I just had to...be cool.

"I don't have a type," I bravely asserted.

"That desperate, huh?"

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed, my supposed coolness faltering. "That's not fair."

The mayor looked down at her glass for the umpteenth time, twisting it some more, a self-content smile playing on her lips. _Not the lips,_ I admonished myself, not wanting to be caught staring at them a second time. Then her expression grew serious again, doleful even, and for a horrifying split second I almost thought she would start crying. But of course – and thankfully – she did nothing of the sort. Just my imagination leaping ahead of me as always.

"Nothing is ever _fair_ ," she stated bitterly. "It just _is_. The sooner one learns, the better."

My curiosity for this woman reawakened. Clues, these were clues. The setting, the circumstances, they were perfect for a bit of detective work. I had to tread carefully, though, or else her walls would go up rather than down.

"I think you're right, in a way," I said generously. "The things happening in our lives aren't really good or bad, we only perceive them as such. It's all in the eyes of the beholder, so to speak."

The brunette squinted and raked her dark eyes critically over me.

"Perhaps you're not as stupid as you look."

This was the closest to a compliment I had ever received from her – except the one about my creativity, possibly – and I kept my snappy comeback to myself to avoid ruining the progress. _Light and causal_ , I reminded myself before replying.

"Well, I try."

She gave a faint smile and with fascination I watched her wet her lips, as if building up to say something. _Not the lips, goddammit!_

"You don't...look stupid."

I arched my brows and blinked a couple of times. More almost compliments? If this was how she got after a few drinks she should definitely consider to drink more often. Or constantly, for all I cared. Never mind her liver, we all had to make sacrifices in life.

"I mean, stupidity has nothing to do with looks," she backpedalled, as if her recent confession had left her too exposed. "You're still a vexatious, careless _klutz_ and I'm _not_ impressed by any of your moronic stunts."

For a second there she had almost had me fooled.

"Yeah? So you won't admit that the flower thing was rather genius? Or that you stared at me and Ruby the whole time we were talking?"

"No, I won't," she asserted with a patronizing smile, "because it wasn't and I didn't."

There it was again, the glow. I knew I hadn't imagined it!

"Sure you did, but that's okay. You don't have to admit it in order for it to be true. We both know."

She sighed in response and closed her eyes as if to keep her temper. I had almost forgotten how much fun this could be, and apparently I had also forgotten about my investigation plans. Why could I never do anything right?

"If I get you another drink, will you let this go?"

 _Uh, what?_ There was literally no reason. She could just tell me to leave. I skeptically narrowed my eyes, thinking my mind must be playing tricks on me.

"Are you bribing me?"

"Yes, yes I am," she confirmed, the irony of it all seeming to be as striking to her as it was to me.

"By buying me a drink?" I questioned disbelievingly.

"Now let's not go overboard here, Miss Swan. I'm not _buying_ you anything, simply using my mayoral privileges to get you another _free_ drink so you'll do as I say."

It was so easy for her, she had clearly done this before. Nonetheless, I was technically receiving that 'special treatment' Killian had talked about earlier and it was a bit hard not to be excited. Those fifty bucks were as good as mine, but to be honest, money was the last thing on my mind in that moment.  
  


* * *

  
"Ever since I became mayor, balancing things have been...tricky. I divorced Henry's father about the same time and, as you know, Henry spends every other week with him. It's not an arrangement I'm particularly happy with, especially not since I work so much. Even when Henry is with me, some weeks, I feel as if we barely see each other. I wish we could spend more time together."

I listened intently to the mayor while slowly sipping on my drink, trying to make it last as long as possible. She was making normal polite conversation with me. Finally. And somehow, it actually felt real, because I didn't think she would talk about her _son_ with just anyone. It seemed to be a sensitive subject and I had been prepared to be snapped at when I brought it up, but she had surprised me once again this evening and just...started talking.

"That's understandable," I said, barely daring to speak in fear of breaking the magic.

"I feel bad leaving him alone at the house so much. He says he's fine with it but I have my doubts, he's just nine years old. I used to work more from home in the beginning but it didn't work out in the long run. He spent even more time with his father back then, not to mention his father's new girlfriend and later _wife_."

Resentment entered her voice and her expression grew dark.

"She was basically his babysitter there for a while. A painfully long while. Not that she ever put a foot in my house, I wouldn't allow it."

"Did you ever think about getting a real sitter?" I asked carefully. "I mean, one _you_ picked."

"Believe me, I did. I still do sometimes, and then I imagine how they would also help out around the house, because the mayoral mansion is not exactly small. It's just that I don't personally know anyone suitable for the job and I don't want strangers into my house. It's never really been an option."

There was a pause and an idea took form in my head. I was probably crazy for even considering it, a fool for wanting it, and undoubtedly not in my right mind when I said, suggestively:

"Am _I_ a stranger to you?"

A perfect brow rose.

"Why, Miss Swan?" the mayor said slyly. "Are you offering your services?"

The inner picture of helping little Henry with his homework quickly switched to images of explicit adult activities with his mother. _Damn phrasing!_ I had a very strong feeling those kind of _services_ weren't included in the job description.

"Uh-"

"We're talking about babysitting here, mind you."

"Obviously," I hurried to reply, trying to stop undressing her in my mind. "And _yes_ , I'm offering to watch your kid. He's pretty cool."

While true, this was more about the mayor than her son. It was about my growing curiosity for the person she was deep inside, the one I had seen that day in her office before she fired me and everything went to shit. The one that had peeked through in a moment of weakness last Friday. The one I had seen glimpses of tonight, between sips on drinks that were now nearly finished. I kept telling myself I should stay away but it was not going so well. It was really not.

"Well, that's great," she said with feigned enthusiasm, "but you haven't exactly made the impression of being the most _responsible_ person around. I can't have you two running around with knives and accidentally stab each other."

My jaw dropped at the absurd scenario and I felt more than a little offended.

"That's not even remotely realistic!" I exclaimed, and a satisfied smirk appeared on her face. " _Totally unfair..._ "

I muttered that last part but apparently loud enough for her to hear.

"I thought we agreed that nothing is fair? Except perhaps Snow White, but she's not very realistic either, is she?"

Did she know about the name? The Evil Queen? She couldn't find out about it, not now when everything was going so well _._

"My dad calls my mom Snow White sometimes and _she's_ definitely real," I blurted out in a ridiculous attempt to change the topic.

A strong urge to bang my forehead onto the bar counter arose. _Great work, Emma, just bring your parents into this._ The mayor gave a small condescending laugh.

"And she calls him Prince Charming, I presume?"

"Actually, yeah," I admitted, a bit embarrassed. "My mom's maiden name was White, that's how it all started. They met and married young."

As if their age would explain anything. They were both slightly over fifty now and, in quite a lot of ways, actually, still acting like they were fif _teen_.

"How _charming_. But I must say, for a fairy tale princess you're rather ungracious."

"Please, my parents are just unbearably silly. And my childhood was hardly filled with rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers... Well, okay, maybe it was. Bad metaphor."

Her gaze suddenly felt too intense and I turned away and drained what was left of my drink to avoid it. I didn't have a problem with talking about my sexuality, but sharing details from my childhood was _not_ something I was comfortable with, especially not with _her_.

"I don't think growing up is easy for anyone," she said thoughtfully. "We all have our struggles."

"Yeah," I agreed, because she couldn't have been more right.

My parents were – and had always been – loving and supportive of me. Still, I had struggled with the feeling of not being enough. I knew they would've wanted more kids but after all the miscarriages they went through before getting me, they had decided not to try again. For me to then come out as a lesbian, to see the worry in their eyes that there might not be any grandchildren either... It hadn't exactly been easy.

"So, about watching your kid," I said, switching back to our previous topic. "I know I haven't made the best impression."

I looked up at the mayor to seewhat she was thinking but her expression didn't reveal much. Her focus was on me, though, so I continued.

"You've seen me at my worst, really. I'm normally much more responsible," I assured her. "And, I actually have experience. My mom co-owns an orphanage and I've been helping out with the kids there at times, usually during the summers. Considering my current job it goes without saying that any extra chores wouldn't be a problem."

I paused awkwardly as I noticed her quizzically raised brows.

"Are you done promoting yourself?"

My cheeks flushed. Too eager?

"Well, if you change your mind, just let me know," I informed as business-like as I could. "Oh, and if you don't want me in your house he could always come to my place. It's...cozy."

Yep, definitely too eager.

"You mean crowded," she corrected.

"No, it's-" I began to protest, only to realize she had just said a few minutes ago that she lived in a freaking mansion. "I guess it depends on what you compare it to."

"I've seen your place," she reminded me, and I gulped at the sudden flash of memories that got evoked.

" _Right_ , how could I ever forget..."

"Well, for starters, you'd had a _little_ too much to drink. I honestly didn't think you'd remember."

"It was a rhetorical question," I groaned, very displeased with how the conversation kept going in – at least for me – unfavourable directions. "For your information I actually _don't_ remember that much. Just...bits and pieces, and I'd rather not talk about it."

I wasn't going to admit knowing anything about that _hug_. Nope. Nuh-uh. As far as I was concerned, it didn't happen. The mayor let out an amused puff of air through her nose and I demonstratively looked away.

Without the pressure to get her to talk, the silence was mostly comfortable. Ten minutes, bah! Piece of cake. My eyes wandered to the Irishman but the couch where he had previously been seated was empty. _Shit._ How much time had passed since I last checked?

I dug up my phone from my pocket and realized it was getting late, at least for someone who – like me – had to get up with the sun. _Where_ was that pirate? If he thought he could escape our deal he thought wrong! I scanned the bar but without success, and had to accept that we would have to sort the payment out another time. Not only was it late, but the increasing amount of droplets on the windows told me it was going to get very rainy, very soon.

"I should get going," I announced, turning back toward the woman beside me. "Early shift tomorrow, you know."

It wasn't like I needed an excuse but I didn't want her to think I was running away from her or anything.

"But, um, thanks for the 'mayoral privileges drink'. And the talk. It was, uh... Nice?"

"Yeah, I believe it was," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Don't get used to it."

 _Figures_ , I thought, with one last, compulsory glance down at her painted lips before sliding off the bar stool.

"Until next spring, then?" I said half-jokingly, earning a small smile and an affirmative nod from her.

Disproportionally happy for such a simple gesture I turned around and walked out of the bar. She could regress to evil queen tomorrow but she couldn't undo this evening, she couldn't take away the fact that she had opened up to me. The only thing that could've made it even better was if it hadn't been at a bar.


	12. Villainous Pirate vs Evil Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma watches the pirate and the mayor fight over her...or wait, that's not really what happens. But they do argue. And Emma watches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What now? An early update? Well, I'm going away skiing this weekend and next week so thought to post this before I go. Because of said ski trip the next chapter might be a bit late, though, but as usual, I'll do my best :)
> 
> Also, thanks for the reviews! I don't get a lot of them but those I get, I really appreciate ^^
> 
> There's still a lot of Regina, as the title suggests, and it's been great to finally focus a bit more on the main pair of this story :p

**Villainous Pirate vs Evil Queen**

It wasn't raining too bad but the wind and chilly night air that hit me in the doorway when I left the pub made it unpleasant enough. Of course I didn't have an umbrella with me – because I was me, and never thought that far ahead – and I was just having the regular 'is it worth to run?' discussion with myself when I heard someone call from behind.

"Swan!"

I spun around and there he was, the Irishman.

"I didn't see you," I said as he approached me.

"You were taking so long, I had to use the little boy's room."

That possibility hadn't even crossed my mind and I felt a bit stupid for rushing out so quickly, but since I didn't want to stand in the rain longer than necessary I went straight to the point.

"You owe me fifty bucks."

"Really? Come on, it was just a silly bet," he tried, reaching for my arm.

"You're impossible!" I exclaimed, throwing up my arms in frustration as I took a step away from him.

This happened to bring me pretty close to the brick wall of the building next to the bar, and I was not pleased when Killian stepped after me.

"Don't be upset," he said and gave me one of his familiar suggestive looks, leaning in even closer. "Perhaps there's some _other_ way I could pay you?"

I bit back a frustrated growl, for the first time feeling a bit uneasy in his presence. Aside from us, the street was empty, and my only advantage if he tried anything would be his drunkenness. From what I had perceived he had been drinking steadily from his pocket flask throughout the evening.

"No," I asserted, looking him straight in the eye and not backing down an inch. "There isn't. There will never be _any_ of that, ever. Is that so fucking hard to understand? I. Am _not_ -"

"Hey!"

The Irishman and I simultaneously turned our heads toward the harsh voice and I couldn't help to feel a bit relieved upon seeing the mayor. Not that I let it show, though. I had the situation under control.

"What's going on here?" she questioned sternly, slowly walking closer with her gaze honing in on me. "Is he bothering you?"

"Relax, Mills, we're just-" Killian began, only to be cut off immediately.

"That'd be _Mayor_ Mills, and I wasn't talking to you," she snapped, barely regarding him with a glance.

 _Whelp_. My eyes flickered back and forth between the other two, who both seemed to be waiting for my response. I almost felt like I was eight again, standing in the principal's office trying to explain why the vicar's son had a broken nose.

My parents' fertility problems had hardly been a secret, their initial refusal to stop trying being frowned upon by some, and just a few minutes before I was sent to the principal's office, the vicar's son had called me a freak. He'd told me that I shouldn't have been born and rubbed the facts of my improbable existence in my face with a disgusted grimace. When I – hurt and infuriated – lunged forward, he jumped out of my way, quite ironically tripping over his own feet and stumbling face first onto the banister. Karma, right? To break his nose had never been my intention, nor could I be blamed for the incident since there were witnesses who confirmed my story. During the talk with my parents later they assured me that I was _not_ a freak, far from it. I was their miracle.

"Uh, I'm fine," I began haltingly, returning to reality and side-eyeing the Irishman. "Mostly. We were disagreeing about payment, for a bet. He owes me."

I would've told the mayor to mind her own business if I wasn't so curious to see how she would proceed. She didn't disappoint.

"Well, that's easily settled then, just give her the money," she commanded the leather clad man.

"You're not even gonna listen to my version of the story?" he said incredulously.

"This is Story _brooke_ , not storytime, so no, I'm not gonna listen to your pathetic excuses."

"I didn't do anything!"

The mayor flashed a false smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, don't you understand the meaning of the word 'no'? Shall I explain it to you?"

"Bloody hell, if I'd known you'd gang up on me I would never have made that stupid bet," he complained and brought out his wallet, begrudgingly handing me the money. "I wouldn't have broken our deal, you know? I was just trying to negotiate the terms."

"A little late for that, perhaps," the mayor sneered before I got a chance to reply, and Killian shifted focus to her again.

"Well, it never hurts to try, does it?"

"I'd argue with that."

"You already are."

"Guys!" I said, interrupting the snappy exchange in front of me. "It's late, it's raining, so let's postpone any arguments till tomorrow, okay?"

"There will be no arguments," the mayor declared. "I'll give you a warning, _Mr Jones_ , and if you don't improve your behaviour you'll soon be looking for another job."

"We're not even at work!" he protested. "You can't just fire me because you don't like me."

She scoffed at him, basically radiating self-assurance.

"You know very well that I can, and you should be grateful that I haven't already."

To this he had no comeback and I couldn't blame him. The mayor had a rather _fiery_ personality, and as we all knew, clearly the means to go through with her threat. She did appear to have a thing for sacking people.

"Alright," he yielded, hands up in reluctant surrender.

"Good," she said with yet another false smile, one that she quickly dropped along with the pitch of her voice. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Killian muttered a few curses under his breath and gave me a knowing look as he turned around to leave, a look I didn't reciprocate. For once, I actually sided with the mayor.

"Making _bets_? With _him_? What were you thinking?" she hissed behind the retreating Irishman's back. "If this is how you plan to convince me that you are, in fact, responsible enough to look after my son, I'm sorry, dear, it's not gonna work."

"Not one of my brighter moments, I agree," I said and made an apologetic face. "I guess he brings out the worst in me."

"So it would seem," the mayor replied dryly.

I was thankful for the rain and cold wind that masked my sudden blush. She would just dare to bring that up again! Regarding the weather, the mayor's dark – and of course still perfect – hair was beginning to stick to her face and I could feel mine doing the same. We were both starting to get wet from the steady drizzle but fortunately I thought a moment before commenting on it. Starting to _get wet_ , no thanks, I'd had enough of humiliation for one night. But I felt as though I should show my gratitude in some way or another, because she had actually saved me a lot of trouble.

"Thank you for, um, stepping in," I said, shufflingmyfeet and not really knowing where to put my hands. "And...sorry about the rain..."

She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Like you control the weather anyway. If you did it world probably always be sunny, considering your apparent lack of proper rain gear," she remarked.

Was she referring to the circumstances of our very first encounter? It made me happy, somehow, that she might actually remember it as clearly as I did. Her brows then knitted together in a frown.

"Are you walking home in this?"

"Yeah," I replied and lifted my gaze to the sky, blinking against the many tiny droplets suddenly falling into my eyes. "But I'm thinking maybe I should run instead, to save some time if nothing else."

I looked at the mayor again, noticing the somewhat conflicted look on her face. She pursed her lips and gave a small sigh.

"I guess I _could_ drive you," she offered reluctantly.

"You have your car here?"

She deadpanned at the idiotic question because _obviously_ she had, otherwise she wouldn't have made the offer.

"Unlike you, I prefer motorized means of transportation," she said loftily. "Especially when it's in the middle of the night and the weather is disagreeable."

"You do have a point," I admitted, "but since tonight was gonna involve _alcohol_ I thought it'd be safer to walk."

I gave her a meaningful look, hoping she'd view this as some kind of improvement of my character and not... _Dammit_.

"I mean, I didn't _plan_ to get drunk," I clarified, instantly fearing that I was only making it all sound worse. "And I- I'm not! I just...thought I'd rather be on the safe side. Plus, it's much cheaper to walk anyway."

The mayor barely raised a brow in response to my faltering explanations.

"Well, you're free to walk home if you want to," she said casually and turned around in her usual, almostregal manner. "Or ride with me in my car. Whatever suits you."

I cringed at her words, glad she was moving away from – and not toward – me. Although there was nothing wrong with the phrase itself, it _did_ bring me back a few nights, to the previous time I had thought about 'rides' with her. These inner translations had to stop. Everything about her had to stop! I didn't even like her! She was mean and selfish and cold-hearted and selfish and impossible and...offering to drive me home. I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed in defeat as I followed her lead.

"I think the car will be fine," I said, catching up with her. "But, um, are you sure you should be driving?"

No matter the discomfort of asking, it had to be done. I couldn't make a speech about alcohol and safety and then don't even check my driver. She looked completely clueless, though.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Err, well, you've been drinking, too..."

I trailed off, feeling awkward. She didn't reply immediately and her silence perplexed me. The question wasn't _that_ complex. A simple 'yes' or 'no' would suffice. Not until we arrived at her Mercedes-Benz, the black vehicle covered in glimmering droplets, did she finally turn to me again.

"I appreciate your concern, Miss Swan, but all I've been drinking tonight is non-alcoholic apple cider," she disclosed with a tight smile. "I think I'm fit to drive."

Not the kind of answer I'd expected, but it'd do, too, of course.

"Oh. No problem, then!"

She gave a short nod and unlocked the car, and it was with a feeling of déjà vu I climbed inside. The engine whirred to life at least twice as smoothly as the Bug's had ever done and I relaxed into the comfortable seat, taking time to actually reflect on what she had just said.

 _Non-alcoholic_. Almost as if being embarrassed about it, she had said, _non-alcoholic_. She clearly would've preferred to keep that detail to herself but there were countless good reasons not to drink alcohol, she shouldn't be embarrassed about that. Maybe she was worried it'd taint her image and – God forbid – make her look soft. Or... No, the likeliness of Henry getting a younger sibling seemed diminishingly small. One thing was sure, though. The mayor's actions tonight, the sudden change in behaviour, it really had been _all_ her.  
  


* * *

  
I didn't understand. Not in the car, not at home afterwards, not when sweeping the corridors at fourth floor the next morning.

After realizing that no alcohol had played part in making the mayor open up to me I had curiously turned my head to look at her, as if the answers I was searching for would reveal themselves if I stared intently enough. All I had received, though, was a series of tentative side-glances.

"What?" she had demanded after a while.

"Nothing," I had lied, quickly averting my eyes out the windshield. "Just zoned out for a bit."

Then we hadn't spoken a single word to each other until she pulled up at my apartment, my 'thanks for the ride' battling with her 'you're welcome' for most strained utterance ever.

A sudden exclamation of my last name announced the presence of the infamous building maintenance worker. There was only one person who always greeted me in that manner.

"The renowned seductress," he added, and I whipped around so quickly I almost hit him with my mop.

The _what_ now?!

"Oi, careful with that! I wanna live to hear the details."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, confused and irked at once.

His expression became smug – or rather _smugger_ , considering his default expression was pretty self-righteous – and he moved to lean nonchalantly against the wall.

"You and the mayor seemed to get along pretty well last night," he said with a meaningful look and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh shut up, Hooker! We were just talking."

"Hooker," he mused. "You know, I have a suggestion."

I gave him an unamused look and put my hands on my hips, daring him to continue. Yeah, I bet he had plenty.

"Why not lose the last two letters and simply call me Hook? It makes more sense."

"Why? Cause you consider yourself a villainous pirate rather than a hooker?"

"Aye! I could even rename my boat the _Jolly Roger._ "

I rolled my eyes at him and shrugged disinterestedly, resuming my task of sweeping the floor. It wasn't like I cared too much about his nicknames.

"Whatever."

"Enthusiastic as ever, dove," he said with a mocking grin.

"I'm not a bird," I growled through gritted teeth. "Has that slipped your mind already? Go pester someone else, I'm trying to work here."

He just laughed it off and pointed at his watch.

"Good thing the clock just turned eight, then. You're on break."

"Great," I sighed without meaning it, slumping my shoulders as I stilled the mop. "You better not let the mayor catch you bugging me again. She might just start hurling fire balls at you."

I walked over to attach the mop to my cleaning trolley and Killian followed closely behind.

"Indeed, she seems to have become rather protective of you all of a sudden. One might wonder why," he said smugly. "How did the rest of the evening go?"

"The rest of...?" I said with a frown, pushing the trolley toward the elevators.

"It _was_ you in that fancy car of hers, don't try to convince me otherwise."

"Were you spying on me?" I spat, my voice raised in anger as I stopped dead in my tracks to shoot him an aggravated glare.

"Hey," he said defensively. "It was a coincidence, I swear."

"It better be," I muttered with narrowed eyes. "And for your information, _yes_ , she did drive me home. It was the ten most awkward minutes of my life, probably."

I might be exaggerating just a tad but Killian needed to be convinced. He didn't look like he was, and he continued to give me knowing glances as we stepped into the elevator and began our descent.

"Look, I told you," I tried, wondering how in the world _I_ would be able to get rid of him when not even the mayor's threat seemed to deter him. "We _just. T_ _alked_."

"Yeah, but you see, that's the thing," he began importantly. "The mayor doesn't _just_ _talk_ to people. Not like that. She always has a motive, may it be an evil plot against someone or an attempt to make good connections. So, I'm curious. What does she want from you?"

He seemed so sure of his belief that I almost started doubting. What if she only was conspiring against me? But that did seem kinda farfetched. Our talk had felt genuine. It had.

"I don't know," I shrugged noncommittally. "It's not like she told me or anything."

"Well, just be careful. You can't trust her."

I raised my brows at the unexpected comment.

"Coming from you, that's just pathetic. Didn't you tell me not five minutes ago that you wanted to be nicknamed after a villainous pirate?"

"You got me, lady," he winked, sending a faint shiver down my spine. "But that aside, I'd dare to say I know her better than you do."

"I don't care how well you think you know her, I can judge for myself, thank you very much," I said sharply, just before the elevator doors opened. "And now, I'm gonna go have breakfast in peace."

With that I stomped off, foolishly believing that the Irishman would get the hint. He didn't. He never did.

"Why are you following me?" I questioned, my patience wearing thin when his tall figure came into view once again. "Don't you have better things to do?"

He didn't get to reply and we both halted abruptly at the fierce voice calling from behind us.

"Miss Swan! My office, now."

I groaned inwardly. What I had done wrong now? Was this the moment I would find out that yesterday had indeed only been part of some sinister plan? Was I gonna be fired again? Why was she even down here at our floor? My mind was racing and I looked up briefly at Killian, his usual smug expression back on his face.

"Go solve your little _problem_ ," he whispered with a wink.

Had our boss not been present I would've punched him in the face.


	13. Ghost of Days Gone By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is interrogated about her past and Ruby gets an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What now? Another early update? This chapter got short, so I thought, why not?
> 
> What really happened in the office? Well, you're about to find out xD And I hope you all will like Ruby's idea!

**Ghost of Days Gone By**

The mayor sat rigidly behind her desk, her features hard and unforgiving, and she had yet to start talking. I tried to read her, searched her eyes for any of the cordiality they had been showing the previous night, but found none. Had anything changed between us, at all? Judging by the look on her face it didn't seem that way and I pressed my lips to a thin line, awaiting the apparent issue to be addressed.

"You do have a _clear_ criminal record, isn't that right, Miss Swan?" she said finally.

The question took me by surprise. Surprise, that quickly turned into suspicion.

"Yeah, that's...correct," I replied warily. "You got access to all of that when I began working here."

"But you _were_ arrested?" she insisted.

"Yes," I confirmed, after only a brief moment of hesitance. " _Once._ But I went through this with Mr Humbert already, he said it wasn't a problem."

"He's quite right, though he really needs to stop leaving information out of his reports," she said disapprovingly. "I was never told about this arrest."

"Then how do you know about it?" I asked with a frown and narrowed my eyes at her. "Did you google me? Is that what you did?"

When had she found time to do that? In the middle of the night after dropping me off? During breakfast? The thought of the mayor sipping morning coffee while typing my name into the Google search field was not exactly _laughable_ , but certainly curious. The person seated in front of me now didn't have much in common with the one in my inner picture, and the only response she gave to my questions was a small, satisfied smirk that was gone a second later.

"Why was your record cleared?"

"Well, _maybe_ because I was innocent?" I said with a hint of irritation in my voice, not enjoying this interrogation. "I was framed by my girlfriend at the time, who I didn't know was into such shady businesses. Figures you didn't find the articles explaining that, it takes a lot more digging than the other crap."

The mayor's stern expression softened notably and I realized she had probably been prepared to find out I was some former criminal. Just like me, she hadn't been sure where we stood with each other. With the tension in the room easing I dared a tentative smile.

"I _really_ don't like my ex," I said in a humorous tone, and was rewarded with a small upturn of her lips and one of her standard eye rolls.

"Well, if that's what you compare your potential partners to I understand why you wouldn't consider Guyliner as such a bad choice."

She was joking, she was only joking, but it hit a nerve and wasn't really funny at all. Five years was a long time, but the betrayal... I would never fully get over Cassidy's betrayal.

"You're forgetting the fact that I'm gay," I tried to counter, frustrated when my voice let me down and sounded nowhere near as confident as I would've wanted it to.

I quickly pulled myself together again and forced the past back in the past, where it belonged. The mayor gave me an obscure look, like she had known and hadn't known all at once.

"So you are?" she questioned neutrally, giving nothing away.

"Attracted to women?" I said and raised a quizzical brow. "I thought that was a pretty established fact by now."

She must've known, otherwise I had no idea what the hell she had been teasing me for all week. Why were we even having this conversation? How was my sexuality of any interest to her? Killian's parting words suddenly echoed in my head, 'go solve your little _problem._ ' To deny that I'd like exactly that to happen would've been a lie, but I knew it was a ridiculous thought and scolded myself instead. _Get a grip._

"Well, one can be attracted to more than one gender, can't they?"

It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement, just inclusive enough to have me wondering.

"Of course," I agreed, deciding to test her. "How involved are you with LGBTQ rights?"

"Enough to see the legislation of same-sex marriage in our state last winter as long overdue," she replied in a heartbeat. "We're all people and should be treated equally."

I nodded approvingly, pleased with her answer. She might actually be growing in my eyes.

"I must say, I didn't take you for a caring person," I said honestly.

Perhaps a little too honestly, because I could almost swear there was a sudden glint of hurt in her eyes, and I cursed my own tactlessness.

"If I didn't care about people I don't think I would make a very good mayor," she bit back, her defenses returning. "Doesn't mean I have to personally _like_ each and every one of my citizens."

"True," I admitted quietly, discouraged by her words.

So she _did_ care about me, but she didn't like me. She couldn't have been more clear even if she had said it directly to me, and I felt...foolish. Of course nothing had changed! Why did I never learn? I let out a discreet sigh.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about or can I, um, go have my breakfast now?" I asked, dismayed when I checked the time and realized that my break was, in fact, over.

"Actually, there is one more thing," the brunette declared, straightening in her seat and momentarily directing her hostility elsewhere. "Killian Jones. I want you to know that if he does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, here at work or privately, don't hesitate to tell me."

My eyes widened and the smile was a hair away when I remembered that this wasn't about me – _"If I didn't care about people I don't think I would make a very good mayor"_ – it was only about her duties as mayor and employer.

"Sure," I said, banishing the disappointment to the back of my mind.

If she thought my answer seemed lame she didn't show it. Instead she looked down at her papers and picked up her office phone, as if I had suddenly ceased to exist.

"You may leave."

So I left, cursing inwardly at the faint tightness in my chest. My body and mind were betraying me. Two weeks ago I couldn't have cared less what she thought of me. Her anger had – if anything – been a turn on for me, a challenge, _fun_ , but now here was this familiar seek for approval. Her approval. I could _not_ let her get to me this easily! I couldn't...have breakfast, because she had wasted my whole break talking nonsense. Kind of.

In an act of defiance I went to the breakroom anyway, even took time to eat slowly, and no one commented on it. Killian wasn't to be seen until noon.  
  


* * *

  
The rest of the week unfolded uneventfully, although not without tension.

Things were strained between me and the mayor in a way it hadn't been before, with neither of us really sure of how to act toward the other. There were some of the old bantering, some of the newer teasing, and then actually a few instances where she appeared almost...friendly? At least neutral, and considering her hostile disposition that was a change for the better. So in a way, something _had_ changed, and I was glad that the discoveries about my past hadn't worsened things.

Things were also strained between me and Killian, his thick brain seeming to finally comprehend the reality of my disinterest. I didn't hesitate to tell him about the mayor's request, and after that, when we talked, it wasn't about the – non-existent – potentiality of me and him. It wasn't about the – also non-existent – potentiality of me and the mayor. He drastically toned down the teasing and suggestiveness in general, and I greatly appreciated it. I had a feeling he would soon forget the gravity of the situation, it would fade, and Captain Hooker – or Hook, as he preferred – would be back. But until then, I was enjoying this break from him.

Two people things were less strained with, though, was Ruby and Mei Lan. The three of us met up for another jog on Sunday morning – later than last week but before Granny's opened – and although cloudy, the weather was alright. Ruby was clearly in good shape and appeared to be born to run, which led Mei Lan and I – both preferring a slower pace – to team up as the tall brunette made detours to match her need for speed. It was a relief to be among people I could be myself with again, to be able to let my guard down a bit, and I couldn't even pretend to be mad at Ruby for playing matchmaker last weekend.

"How was your week?" Mei Lan questioned suddenly, not having spoken much until now.

"I dunno, kinda emotionally exhausting, I guess," I answered truthfully between rhythmicbreaths. "But hey, did you know about the mayor's devotion to LGBTQ rights?"

It just slipped out, since I was still positively surprised, but perhaps I would come regret it.

"Regina Mills? No, I had no idea, that was never in her campaign. Where did you hear that?"

"Did someone say _Mills_?" Ruby interjected, appearing out of nowhere.

Mei Lan gave her a small smile and shared a knowing look with me.

"Your hearing never ceases to amaze me," she teased the brunette, who flashed a wolfish grin and faked incomprehension.

"How else would I be able to pick up on all the rumours in town?"

It felt carefree and easy like this, and maybe they would forget about what I had said and don't ask any more questions about it. Maybe. Just maybe.

"So what about the Mills bitch?" Ruby said dauntlessly, turning toward Mei Lan with an expectant look on her face. "What did she do now?"

For someone who had myself used the same word – several times, actually – to describe the mayor, it bothered me surprisingly much to hear it from the waitress. What also bothered me was the way she had just assumed the mayor had done something _bad_ , when this time it was actually some good news. Then again, she wasn't an easy person to like, so it wasn't surprising that Ruby – or anyone, really – would talk about her like that. It wasn't surprising at all.

"...so I was just asking Emma where she'd heard that."

Ruby focused her attention on me and I chided myself for opening my mouth today. My initial _physical_ clumsiness upon moving to Storybrooke had been mostly temporary, but my verbal one... It wasn't new and I guessed I had to accept that hope was lost for me.

Why had I become a paralegal again? Oh, right. Because of my deceitful ex, the _dear_ Ms Neal, and all the legal drama following our brief little love story. Ironically, it was also my involvement with her that had made getting hired an uphill battle. I had sent my resumé to a number of firms, but why would they choose someone with nearly no experience and a questionable history with the law when they had other – spotless – applicants to pick from? In the majority of the cases I hadn't even gotten as far as to an interview.

The setback had been enough to make me opt for a break and just get away. Away from my hometown, away from my parents. After the trials I had been living with them again for a little more than four years, because they had _insisted_ they loved to have me around and money had _really_ been scarce. All the lawyer fees and study fees and... My parents had supported me both economically and emotionally through it all, and that had been a turning point in our relationship. I had found myself believing, finally, that maybe I was enough, after all. Yeah, the past few years hadn't been all that bad, actually.

Suddenly there was someone bumping my shoulder.

"Hello, Earth to Emma!"

Ruby was grinning and I had no idea if she had just gotten tired of waiting for me to speak or if anyone had asked me a question.

"What?"

"Well, I'm dying of curiosity here! You can't just leave me guessing where you got that treasurable piece of information. It can't be that hard to remember?"

"Oh, I...uh," I began haltingly.

I couldn't tell them the mayor told me herself, because I didn't want them to know I worked for her. That was just one detail they were better off without, for now. Neither could I give them a name, because Ruby would know who it was, or she would soon find out.

"I just heard it somewhere," I said vaguely. "Sorry, I was in a hurry and didn't have time to stop and interrogate them."

Ruby gave me a pout and when I looked over at Mei Lan there was an unmistakable smirk on her face.

"Not everyone is like you," she pointed out to the brunette.

"I guess not," Ruby muttered in response, but then lit up suddenly. "We should have a Pride parade!"

"In Storybrooke?" Mei Lan questioned skeptically. "We'd be like, what, ten people?"

I couldn't help to chuckle at the scene depicted in my mind, and the brunette joined in on the laughter.

"But Mei, you're forgetting about all the straight allies," she said in mock patronage, smiling toward her friend. "I think this is actually a great idea! Nothing ever happens in this town and if the mayor approves, then this could be truly awesome!"

Ruby was all but bouncing with excitement and I decided I was totally supportive of this idea, the prospect of meeting some local lesbians only being one of the many reasons.

"Even if she doesn't, it could still be good," she added optimistically.

 _I can ask her personally,_ I thought to offer, but realized I couldn't without revealing that – and how – I knew the mayor. And maybe it wouldn't have been helpful anyway, maybe she'd say no just _because_ I was the one asking. We would have to find another solution.

"She kind of has to approve, you know," Mei Lan pointed out, slowing down to a walk as we neared the end of our round. "At least if we have enough support for our idea. It wouldn't look good on her to deny her people what they want."

"It would not," the waitress agreed, her smile smug for a moment before brightening. "Then we just have to get everyone to root for this parade! And we can do that. Right, Emma?"

I met Ruby's expectant eyes and smirked.

"Of course!"


	14. Birdhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is in for a few surprises and gets to spend the afternoon with a certain little Mills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! New chapter, finally! I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been dealing with iritis (I couldn't read with my left - and best - eye for about two weeks and felt like a cyclop), there was Easter, and I had a lot of inspiration flowing for my "side fics" (one Cambrano and one kind of Swan Queen, both planned to be fairly short). Then my beta had a lot on her plate when I was finally finished with the chapter.
> 
> I'll try not to keep you waiting this long again but, as usual, I can't make any promises. However, I WILL finish it. I've made a pact with myself :p This story is like a dear friend to me.

**Birdhouse**

With part of the office – among them the mayor – out of town for the day, the week started out quietly. However, as my shift was nearing it's end, my phone rang, and the name on the display had me staring in astonishment for a moment before picking up.

"Hello, Madame Mayor. To what do I owe this honour?"

"Don't try to be smart," she snarled in a hushed voice. "I need to ask you a... A favour."

Very reluctantly, it seemed.

"What kind of favour?" I asked curiously, intrigued and perplexed by the thought of the mayor needing something from me.

"Were you serious when you offered to watch Henry?"

My heart started to beat faster. Was this for real? Was she really asking me this?

"Of course," I replied, gripping my phone tighter in anticipation. "I didn't think you'd, uh, consider it."

"I'm _not_ considering it," she asserted, only to contradict herself the next moment. "Henry has lost his keys and I'm in the middle of an important meeting **,** in Bangor. I was wondering if maybe you could pick him up from school and keep him company for a couple of hours? I'll be back in Storybrooke by five, hopefully."

"Sure, I can do that," I agreed, still baffled over being given this prestige filled assignment. "But, um-"

"Yes, I _know_ he has a second family," she cut me off defensively, "but since this is _my_ week I'd rather not involve them."

"No, that's not..." I faltered. "I was just gonna say my shift isn't over yet."

There was a brief silence.

"Well, that's irrelevant. Grumpy is there, isn't he?"

"If you mean Leroy, then yes, he's here," I said, throwing a glance in the presumed direction of the ill-tempered, stocky man.

He was hardworking, but not very punctual, and a rather unpleasant person to be around. It was no surprise that he and Killian got along well, although the latter was actively pestering people while Leroy mostly kept to himself.

"You better get going, then, or else I will arrive before you and this call will have been completely pointless. I assume your idea of a car isn't at work?"

"Right, no, it isn't," I confirmed, hurriedly gathering my equipment. "Don't worry, I'll be there in no time."

"No speeding, I hope," the mayor commented dryly. "I'll send you his teacher's number, she can guide you to the school and tell you everything you need to know. And finally, do not call me unless it's of highest importance."

"Yes, Boss. Understood."

"Don't make me regret this."

Such faith she was putting in me, ey? The kid had seemed to enjoy the time we spent in each other's company during Easter, so there shouldn't be a problem with that. Judging by the mayor's reluctance her meeting must be _very_ important, otherwise I was sure she would've skipped it in favour of helping her son.

"I won't," I assured her. "You won't. He'll be _fine_."

"He better be," she said threateningly, and I made a mental note to not touch a single hair on the boy's head.

What had I gotten myself into?

I was in for more surprises. The teacher, Miss Blanchard, turned out to be Ruby's friend Margaret, and we spent the first half minute of my call to her sorting out our identities. She was clearly surprised to hear me, too.

"Honestly, I was expecting Marian to show up anyway," she confessed. "I didn't think the mayor would ever find anyone good enough to look after her son, who would actually agree to do it. No offense, though, but since you're close to her I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

"Err, we're not...we're not close," I corrected, thrown off by the ridiculous idea that we would be. "Definitely not, and this is just a one time thing."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Margaret apologized. "I just assumed..."

"No problem," I assured her, although her assumption did make me wonder.

How well did Margaret know the mayor herself? She seemed to have _some_ insight, but that was only natural since she was the teacher of her son. Why would she automatically think I was close to the mayor just because I was gonna look after her kid for a couple of hours? Granted, Mayor Mills entrusted few people with this responsibility, but that Marian – the new wife of Henry's father, I presumed – was hardly _close_ to her. Close to Henry, perhaps.

"Anyway," I said as the yellow Bug – sorry, _pug_ – came into view, "I'll be at my car any minute. How do I get to the school?"

"It's really easy to find. You know where Granny's Diner is, right?"

"Yeah."

"From Main Street, if the diner is to your right, choose left. The school is at the end of the road, you can't miss it."

"Alright, thank you! I'll be there soon."

I hoped.

Like any – especially old – car, the Bug needed to be used in order to run smoothly and I had been driving it very sporadically during the past month. I wasn't too ashamed of the state of it but it did look pretty sad, and the one time I had taken it to work – because of a particularly heavy downpour – the mayor had lectured me for _minutes_. Nothing I'd like to repeat unless necessary.

I grimaced as I poked the dented metal, then made my way to the driver's seat. Except from that broken bulb I'd had to change, there was nothing wrong with it, mechanically. To be honest, it didn't _actually_ look like a pug, either. The front wasn't flat enough. More like...a Boston terrier. I had wanted one as a kid, after my grandma's collie Lassie had passed away of old age, but my parents had said no. My argument that they needed a dog for herding the sheep had been invalidatedimmediately, since Boston terriers didn't herd. Besides, the farm was no longer big enough to really demand a working dog, and even Lassie had been kept more out of habit than need.

The faithful collie had been the family's last dog. My parents hadn't wanted a new one, at eleven years I hadn't been nearly old enough to take full responsibility for a pet, and Grandma's health had been quickly declining. The cancer had gotten the better of her the next year and my family had suddenly felt very small.

So now, the Bug was like the dog I'd never had, and it was hurt and rowdy for being crashed and then forgotten about. I was lucky, though, that it decided to cooperate with me today, and Margaret hadn't lied when she had said the school was easy to find.

From my apartment the diner was to my left, so I turned right, and just like promised, the road ended with a set of old-fashioned buildings and a schoolyard. It was rather empty, though, so I figured most students had either left or were attending class. I found a free space where I parked, and then hesitantly looked between the different buildings as I got out of my car. Which one was it? As if hearing my silent question, someone opened the door to the closest building, and Henry poked his head out with a bright smile on his face.

"Hi, Emma!"

"Hey, kid!" I called back and made my way over to him, up a bunch of stone steps.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he peered up at me, not moving to let me inside. _Well, this is starting out great_ , I thought, with a sudden twinge of anxiety in my gut. I couldn't mess up. I had made a _promise_!

"You don't remember my name," he said, giving me an accusing look.

"Why, of course I do, _Henry_ ," I said earnestly, putting emphasis on his name. "And I'm glad that you remembered mine."

His face lit up again and one of his small hands tugged at my sleeve, like there had never been a problem.

"Come on, I want to show you something!"

"Alright," I agreed and let myself be led through a corridor and into the second classroom on the left, which Margaret was just about to exit.

"Oh, hi," she greeted with a friendly smile. "I was just wondering when you'd show up. Not that hard to find, was it?"

"Can't say it was, no," I grinned.

"Look what I've made!" Henry called from the other side of the room, holding up... "A birdhouse!"

Well, wasn't he adorable. Smiling, Margaret and I walked over to him and the table he was standing by. There were several birdhouses and other creations sitting on it, all in different stages of completion, but the one in Henry's hands seemed to be finished.

"Wow, have you built that all by yourself?"

"No, we're not allowed to use all of the tools. They think we're gonna hurt ourselves," he explained with an almost perfect imitation of his mother's eye rolls. "But I've done most of the work!"

"You've done a great job, it looks really nice," I said appreciatively, giving him an encouraging smile.

One wouldn't think a nine-year-old had built it and I was honestly impressed. Not very surprised, though. He shared fifty percent of his DNA with the mayor, after all, and everything about her just seemed so...well, _perfect_. Except maybe her attitude toward other people.

"I finished it today and was thinking about how difficult it would be to carry on my bike. It doesn't fit in my backpack. But now we can just put it in your car!"

"Yes, we can," I told the enthusiastic boy and shared a brief knowing glance with his teacher before focusing on Henry again. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and clutched the birdhouse to his chest, then ran off to get his backpack.

"So, how do you know the mayor?" Margaret suddenly asked in a lowered voice, so Henry wouldn't hear.

"I said-"

"I know what you said, but you've clearly spent time with Henry before. _And_ lived to tell about it."

All these jokes, always depicting the mayor as some kind of tyrant. They were exaggerated. But I bit back my comment and simply answered the question. I had no reason to defend her.

"Yeah, I have. Once."

Henry scurried past me and Margaret and we slowly followed him out to the hall, where his jacket was the only one left in its particular section.

"Just once?" Margaret questioned, surprised. "You must've made quite an impression on him, he seems to really like you."

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "I don't know what I did, really, we just talked some over dinner."

Margaret's eyes widened.

"You had dinner with him? And the mayor?"

Ah, shit, I was sharing too many details.

"Well, not exactly," I tried to clarify. "It wasn't planned or anything. I kinda just joined their table at Granny's because there weren't any other available seats."

"And she didn't throw you out with your head first?"

"I'm as surprised as you are," I said with a smirk, because this was actually true. "I think she made an effort to behave in front of Henry."

" _Please,_ can we go now?" Henry called impatiently from the door.

"Absolutely!" I declared, taking the opportunity to escape the unwanted conversation with Margaret. "Let's go."  
  


* * *

  
"Mom doesn't like birds. I don't think she wants to put it up in her garden."

We were driving back toward Main Street and my brows furrowed at the boy's words.

"What about your dad?"

"Nah, his garden is smaller and we already have a birdhouse there. I wanted to make this for my mom. I was hoping she might change her mind, but I don't think she has."

How heartbreakingly cute. And a bit sad. Who didn't like small, chirping birdhouse birds?

"But now that you're here I don't need her help to put it up," Henry continued mischievously. "You can put it on one of the tall trees, real high, so she can't reach it."

"Henry," I gently chided him. "We shouldn't do something she doesn't want us to. That's not nice."

And, more importantly, would most certainly get me into trouble. Henry pouted.

"Besides, if _I_ can put it up, she surely can reach to take it down again," I pointed out. "I'm not that tall."

This immediately earned me a look that suggested I was tremendously stupid.

"Does she look like the type who would climb a ladder?" Henry questioned. "Have you seen her shoes?"

I had to laugh a little at that.

"I can hardly imagine that she does gardening in tight dresses and high heels."

Which, on another note, was an uncomfortably arousing thought. Best not to think of that while on the road. With her son in the passenger seat, no less.

"No, she has her gardener for that. The only things he isn't allowed to touch are the apple trees. But he's mostly there during the summer, so the birdhouse should be safe for a while."

He could certainly argue his case but there was no way I would risk upsetting the mayor like that. A trifle, it might seem, but only if you didn't know her. Surely Henry was aware of that.

"I won't put it up without your mother's permission," I firmly declared. " _But_ , I will try to help you convince her to let me do it once she comes to pick you up. How does that sound?"

Henry narrowed his eyes critically at me but then nodded.

"Okay. What are we going to do now, then?"

"Whatever you want, kiddo," I said, earning a pointed look from him. "Sorry. _Henry_."

The boy giggled unexpectedly and I looked at him, confused. What had I missed?

"You can call me 'kiddo' if you like," he explained, "but I don't think you really meant what you said. I don't think you would approve of all the things I want to do."

"Oh," I said with sudden comprehension, revising my answer. "Whatever you want, _within_ _reason_."

"I thought so. Is ice cream on a Monday within reason?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, your mom didn't say anything about that..."

We stopped for ice cream and then decided to take a walk in the park because of the beautiful, sunny weather. Henry told me stories about his dog, Mudbud, and animatedly demonstrated what he had done and where. Apparently, he had once ate a whole pigeon before anyone could stop him.

"What happened to your car, exactly?" Henry asked innocently, when we were on our way back and was nearing the dented Bug.

"Ah, well, actually," I began, a little embarrassed. "I kinda drove into your mom."

Hazel eyes grew wide.

"That was _you_?"

"Unfortunately. But her car merely got scratched, did you see it?"

He quietly shook his little head, still looking amazed.

"I was with Marian and Roland that day. I just remember Mom being upset when checking in with me before bedtime. Usually, she just texts me goodnight, because neither of my parents like the other to intrude on their time with me, but this time she called. When I asked her if something was wrong she didn't want to say at first, but then she admitted that someone had driven into her and that she was still pretty mad. She told me not to worry, though, and the car was already repaired the next weekend when I stayed with her."

I listened intently to his lengthy answer. It was a lot to take in. I had understood that his parents didn't get along but this was worse than I had imagined. It seemed troubling for everyone involved and I felt extra sorry for Henry. He was just nine years old, far too young to have this much tension in his home. Homes. No one should.

"She's been weird ever since that day. She doesn't think that I notice, but I do."

We were right next to the car now and Henry was looking me deeply in the eyes with a serious expression on his face. Everyone seemed to have noticed the mayor's change that day, and my old doubts reawakened. Maybe it _had_ to do with me, after all? The evidence was overwhelming. What else could it be? Perhaps...perhaps Henry would know something.

"Do you think it's because I hit her car?" I asked carefully, but the boy immediately shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said with a frown. "She wouldn't let you drive me if it was."

I almost heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, that made sense. Great, then that was settled, once and for all.

"Dad's been different, too, so I just figured they had a big fight or something," Henry continued, a sad kind of acceptance in his eyes. "I remember when they were breaking up and deciding who I was gonna live with. Then when Marian moved in. And when Roland was born. It was bad."

I acted completely on impulse and before I knew it I had embraced the kid in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry, Henry," I said earnestly, my heart swelling a little when the small form in my arms hugged me back. "I know that we don't know each other very well but I'm glad that you felt like you could tell me these things."

I loosened my grip and Henry took a step back, nodding and looking brave despite the wetness in his eyes.

"Do you feel like you have someone you can talk to about this?" I asked, bending down to his level.

He hesitated for a moment, staring at the ground and shuffling his feet.

"Not really... Mom made me see a counsellor a few times but I never had much to tell him. There isn't a lot to talk about, you know. I just wish things were different."

I offered a sympathetic smile and thought about what it must be to grow up under such circumstances. To be so torn...

"Do you wish your parents could still be together?"

"No," he quickly replied, to my surprise. "My dad is happy with his new family, and I am, too. It's great there. We're a _family_. But Mom..."

He seemed to search for the right words but then worry suddenly entered his features.

"You can't tell Mom I said that! She'll... She'll..."

"Of course I won't," I said and put my hand reassuringly on his shoulder to calm him down. "Anything you tell me stays between the two of us. I promise."

He relaxed notably and gave me a resolute smile.

"I like both my parents equally," he declared. "But they're better apart than together."


	15. A Charity Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is not a charity case and learns a little more about the mayor's past. A little...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I've finished my other fic so now I can focus fully on WWCI again :) However, I will be very busy with real life for a few weeks. I'm moving in two weeks and haven't started packing yet! And two weeks after that I'm going to Paris and FT4! So excited, and terrified, so I might just need to focus on getting ready for the trip and not have much time to write until I'm home again. In my new home! Just wanted to give you a heads up ;)

**A Charity Case**

We didn't talk any more about Henry's family situation. When I asked him what he wanted to do for the remaining hour, he asked to see where I lived. Thinking back to how it had looked when I left it in the morning, I hesitated a little.

"You know, that might not be the best idea. I don't think your mom would be too happy about it."

"We don't have to tell her?" he tried, and I couldn't help to chuckle.

"Well, then what _are_ we gonna tell her? I don't think she'll believe that we've been sitting in the park chitchatting all afternoon," I said with a smirk.

Henry giggled a little and I much preferred it to his wet eyes before.

"Why doesn't she like where you live?"

"It's small, and right now very messy. I can't let your mom see it, she might give me a lecture and then never talk to me again."

One would think that my current job would inspire better cleaning routines at home, but truth was that I was so tired of cleaning when I got home that it actually looked worse than before. Well, it wasn't _dirty,_ and the general state of the bathroom and kitchen had improved during the past few weeks, but there were literally things strewn _everywhere_. Half the floor was visible, at most.

"Maybe she doesn't have to come inside? Or maybe you can clean up before she comes?"

I contemplated this while putting on my seatbelt. It wasn't such a bad idea. There would be time to clean up the worst before the mayor came... _Don't go there_ , I ordered myself. _Pure_ _thoughts_.

"If you don't mind entertaining yourself for a while, I guess that'd work. There are TV, books, and video games."

"I don't mind!" Henry quickly assured me, smiling excitedly. "Do you have Mario Kart?"

"Yes, kid, I have Mario Kart," I chuckled and started the car, sending up a silent prayer that I wouldn't be in too much trouble when the mayor got to know all the things I had let her son do.

But it wasn't as if I was expected to make him do homework or something, right? I pulled out on the road and drove carefully down Main Street toward my apartment. There was never really much traffic in Storybrooke but as in any other town, weekday afternoons were the busiest. I wouldn't have admitted it even to myself but I was still a bit anxious to drive, and with Henry in the passenger seat there was even more at stake.

After making it to my apartment building I let out a sigh of relief. The danger was over. Then my phone beeped and seeing who it was from, I tensed up again.

**Meeting over. Where are you in an hour?**

_Well_... Expecting disapproval I answered truthfully.

**We just got to my place so we'll be here, if that's okay with you?**

I didn't get an immediate reply but didn't really have any choice but to exit the car and guide Henry toward the stairs and up to my door. I couldn't let the little guy down, he was counting on Mario Kart now.

"So, my apartment is probably the smallest you've ever seen," I warned as I unlocked the door. "And I have too much stuff lying around. Hang on a minute..."

I picked up my phone to read the just received message. It consisted of only two letters.

**Ok**

"O-kay!" I said out loud, taking my eyes from the screen and swinging the door open. "Welcome to my humble abode!"

It looked even worse than I remembered it and Henry's eyes widened notably.

"Do you live here alone?" he wondered as we entered the small hallway.

"Yep, I made this mess all by myself," I said jokingly and put his backpack and the birdhouse on the chest of drawers to the left.

The piece of furniture was taking up a lot of the space in the narrow passage but I needed to have it _somewhere_ , and it was at least good for dumping stuff on.

I helped Henry to hang his jacket up and made a half-hearted attempt to quickly organize my shoes. Well, I'd deal with that in a moment, but first, kid duty.

"There's the kitchen," I said and pointed through the doorway. "And here's the rest."

"It's like a whole house fit in just one room," Henry commented, summing it up pretty neatly. "Well, three. I guess you do have a bathroom?"

"It's that door," I said and gestured toward the only door – except the one we had entered through – in the apartment. "The lock doesn't work but just close the door and I'll know you're in there."

He frowned but nodded and then turned his attention to the Xbox he just discovered.

"It's the same I have!" he exclaimed and ran up to it. "Can I turn it on?"

"A bit difficult to play otherwise, don't you think?"

He grinned broadly and I had to admit, I enjoyed spending time with him more than I had anticipated. I had never seen myself as the parent type, but this was quite different. Heck, I almost looked forward to clean! The mayor would have exactly nothing to remark on when she arrived, except the size of the apartment. There wasn't really anything I could do about that.  
  


* * *

  
I plopped down next to Henry on the couch with a sigh, just having finished vacuum cleaning. The apartment looked as good as new and one thing that was good with its small size was that it didn't take forever to clean.

"How's it going, kid?"

"I'm winning," he mumbled, his eyes glued to the TV screen.

I chuckled and was able to watch the ongoing race for three whole seconds before there was a knock on the door, causing my stomach to tighten. _Just be cool, you've got this,_ I assured myself as I made my way to the door. Henry's mother might be the Evil Queen but I had done alright in the office for a month or so, surely I could handle...well, _this_. But damn, it wasn't nearly the same thing! Margaret's reaction to me watching Henry was proof enough and I also had first-hand information from the mayor herself that she had never let anyone do this before. I felt like I was part of a scientific experiment with a prominent risk of explosion. Squaring my shoulders and pushing aside any kind of insecurities, I opened the door.

There was an entirely too long silence following. A hazy memory was brought to life and I wondered if the mayor was thinking about that particular time, as well.

"Hi!" I greeted then, far too cheerful, and stepped aside so she could enter. "Come in. Henry is, um..."

A triumphant " _yes!_ " suddenly sounded from the TV corner and the mayor raised her brows as she stepped over the threshold.

"I see," she said, and there was a hint of a smile on her face.

Right? Right, there was. There was also very little space in the hallway, especially for two adults of which one absolutely didn't want to touch anything that belonged to the other one. She looked very out of place, standing uncomfortably in my home, and _oh_ _my_ _God_ , she was in my _home_! I hadn't had any guests since I moved in and the first ones to visit were the freaking _mayor_ and her son. And she hadn't even snapped at me yet. Then, of course, she had arrived mere seconds ago.

I didn't know what to say, even less what to do, and I was sure that my mom, had she been there, would've chided me for my terrible manners. But it wasn't like the mayor would want to stay for _tea_ or anything, she was just picking up her son. Who, by the way, seemed to be turning the game off. I could hear him navigating through the menus.

"It's not as horrible as I remember it," the mayor commented, breaking the silence.

What was this now? Offering almost compliments again? I barely suppressed a smirk.

"Did Henry make this?"

She was touching something! But, of course, it didn't belong to me. It was the birdhouse.

"Yeah," I replied, remembering my promise to him. "He _really_ wants to put it up in your garden, and I offered to help."

She looked surprised for a moment before schooling her features back to an expression of disinterest.

"We won't need any help with that."

"So you will put it up?" I prodded.

"Yes, _I_ will put it up," she replied, a bit annoyed and totally misinterpreting my question. "I'm perfectly able to attach a birdhouse to a tree, mind you. It's not that complicated."

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant," I said, realizing this was the second time today she had just _assumed_ I was having bad intent when I was really not. "Henry said he'd made it for _you_ , but he was worried you wouldn't want to have it in your garden because of your dislike for birds."

The noise from the TV had stopped and I knew Henry was listening intently. The mayor looked dismayed.

"Of course I would! I always put up everything he makes."

With brows furrowed in concern she turned toward the main room.

"Henry?"

"Hi, Mom," Henry said quietly, emerging from the TV corner.

"Did you really think I wouldn't want it?"

I felt an urge to give them a moment alone but the chest of drawers combined with the mayor was effectively hindering me from slipping away to the kitchen. I was going nowhere.

"I know how much you hate birds..." Henry mumbled.

"I love you so much more than I will ever hate birds, Henry. Don't you ever think anything else! Come here."

He obeyed and was engulfed in a hug, and behind his mother's back he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I returned the smile, if though a bit absent-mindedly, because I was busy trying to figure out how to act around _this_ version of the mayor. The 'loving mother' version, _without_ the sudden mood drop that usually followed. Or maybe it was about to happen.

"Let's go home and put that birdhouse up, shall we?" she said and straightened.

Henry nodded eagerly and squeezed past her and me to put his shoes on. Everything in the hallway was neatly in order now, so he didn't have any trouble finding them. The mayor seemed to finally notice that I was kind of trapped and stepped aside so I could pass her. Or maybe she just realized that she needed to get to the door to be able to leave and didn't want to repeat what her son had just done. There was too little space and she'd have to – God forbid – _touch_ me and my stuff.

As we switched place I couldn't help to feel a bit offended. It didn't surprise me that she wanted to keep her distance to _me_ , expecting anything else would've been foolish, but my stuff in general? Not that I had thought she'd feel instantly at home, that would've been even more weird, but I hadn't thought she'd act as if everything of mine was contaminated, either. And that was exactly what she was doing.

But I didn't comment on it. Instead, I focused on Henry as he stood and tried to reach his jacket.

"So, what else have you been doing today?" the mayor asked casually, lifting her son's jacket off its hook for him with meticulous precision.

"You mean other than mistrusting you, playing Mario Kart, and-" I began jokingly, but stopped myself.

Better not mention my hasty cleaning. Her eyes had already narrowed at the mistrust part. I got it, no joking.

"We went to the park!" Henry said gleefully, effectively keeping the conversation on track. "I told her about that time Mudbud ate the pigeon."

The mayor frowned and made a slightly disgusted face.

"That dog eats anything."

"You don't like dogs either?" I made a fair guess, judging by her facial expression.

"I do, actually, but not all aspects of owning one. Especially not one like Mudbud."

The wheels were turning quickly in my head.

"Wait, he's _your_ dog? I thought..."

"No, I work too much. He'd be unhappy," she explained. "But he _was_ partly my dog until... _Robin_ and I split up."

She struggled with the name of her ex-husband and I expected the snarly mood drop to strike. Why on Earth did I always manage to slide straight to the sensitive topics? It was very unfortunate.

"Henry, why don't you go wait in the car? It's right outside."

 _Gulp!_ I put my defenses up and hardened my armour. What was she going to do? Lecture me for something I didn't even do? I was prepared for anything.

"I don't have any cash, unfortunately," the mayor apologized when Henry had said goodbye to me and left with his things. "Having someone to watch Henry wasn't the original plan for today. I think you understand."

Not prepared for _anything_ , apparently. I picked up my slightly dropped jaw and frowned in bafflement.

"Uh...well, yeah."

"Great. You'll have the money in your bank account by tomorrow."

Money? Bank account?

"Whoa, wait, I don't need any money for this," I protested. "It was a favour, right? A one time thing? You don't have to pay me for it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I have to pay you! Or do you work for free now? Perhaps you don't need your salary either?"

"But... This wasn't _work_. It was kinda fun, actually."

She looked as perplexed as I felt.

"You really don't want any money for this?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head.

I hadn't expected her to pay me anything, but when I thought about it, it seemed fairly legit. It just didn't feel right to accept it. I had enjoyed the afternoon with Henry and it hadn't been any trouble for me. I had even gotten my apartment freshened up. No, I could impossibly accept any money for this.

"Well, that's certainly unexpected," the mayor said with raised brows. "Especially for someone in your financial situation."

For someone in my...? _Please_. If I had felt offended before it was nothing compared to what I was now.

"Yeah, I'm not that poor, you know. Unless you're planning on firing me again."

Her expression darkened at my sour comment.

"Goodbye, Miss Swan," she said curtly and turned around in her six inch heels to open the door.

"Bye, Madame Mayor," I responded dutifully as she stepped out of the apartment.

I caught a glimpse of dark, hard eyes before the door slammed shut with a loud bang, and cringed as the sound echoed in the stairwell. The apartment building was not soundproofed in the slightest.

"I have neighbours, mind you," I mumbled and locked the door.

As if on cue there was an irritated knock on the hallway wall.

"Sorry, neighbour!" I called, loud enough for them to hear, and continued more quietly. "But if you're that sensitive, maybe you shouldn't live in this kind of building."  
  


* * *

  
The next day, out of curiosity, I signed in to my online bank to check my account balance. To my surprise and outrage the mayor actually _had_ transferred thirty bucks to my account and the short message read 'not arguable'. She got some nerve. Nothing I didn't already know, though. And, well, what to do? I wasn't going to be too obnoxious about it. It covered the ice cream, at least.

When I saw her exit a conference room, however, I couldn't keep quiet.

"Hey, Mayor!"

I caught up to her, which wasn't exactly easy, because she was rather fast despite her footwear and I had the cleaning trolley to handle, as well.

"Swan. What do you want?" she questioned without slowing down.

"Why did you do that?" I demanded.

"I'm sorry. Why did I do what?"

This woman! She was going to drive me mad one day. Of course she'd make me say it.

"The money," I complained. "I'm not some charity case! If you want to give money to charity, why don't you start with the animal shelter? I hear they have lots of expenses."

And she laughed. She freaking laughed, fuelling the anger that was rising within me.

"You think it was charity? Believe it or not, Miss Swan, but I actually think you did a good job, and you are nothing but stupid for not accepting any money for it. Henry won't stop talking about you."

She thought I had done a good job? Henry liked me? Well, I knew _that_ , but hearing his mother acknowledging it... It was something of a victory. My anger dissipated.

"Besides, I founded that animal shelter in the first place, a little over four years ago," the mayor informed me. "Look it up if you must."

Then I had to screech to a halt to avoid running a bunch of people over and lost ground on the mayor, who unhindered strutted onward. _Well, screw it,_ I thought and began to go back. Unable to resist the temptation, though, I pulled up my phone and did as she had suggested. I looked it up.

And she hadn't lied. I found an article in _Storybrooke_ _Times_ _Online_ from August, 2008, with the headline _"Mayoral candidate Regina Mills founds Storybrooke's first animal shelter.'_ I had to say, I was quite impressed. Even if it had been solely for political reasons, it was still a good thing to do.

As I read on, I found the article rather interesting.

" _I've always loved animals," says Regina Mills, 28, the leading candidate for the mayoral elections this November. "My mother tried to have me play golf when I was little." She gives a small laugh. "But I only ever had horses in my head, so horse riding it was."_

 _We walk into the stables, which will provide housing for the larger animals, and are greeted with a humming neigh from a tall grey horse. Mills explains that he and his friend, a smaller chestnut colt, has already moved in. Their situation was rather emergent and I understand why as we get closer. I can easily count the ribs on both of them. I'm told that they were seized by the local police after their owner had been charged with animal neglect, but since the police didn't have enough resources to care for them, they were going to be put down instead. Two healthy,_ _albeit_ _thin, horses, of which one is only two years old. That would've been unacceptable, we both agree._

" _When I heard about this, I knew I had to do something," Mills says fervently. "Countless pets get put down each year across our country_ _simply_ _because of lack of resources. Little effort is made to find new homes for stray and abandoned animals. I want Storybrooke to be a safe place, for both two- and four-legged individuals."_

There was more, it was a long article, and at the end of it there was a photograph of the mayor – well, mayor to be – standing proudly between a couple of scrawny horses. _'Regina Mills with Major and Rocinante, two horses that will now be given a second chance'_ , the caption read.

I found myself engrossed in research for the rest of the afternoon. She had renovated the school buildings, the library, freshened up the park and the harbour, given more money for education... The list could go on. Well, obviously she hadn't done all this personally, but she had made it happen. I really understood now, why people would vote for her. Why they would put up with her attitude. It was rather enlightening.

But no matter how many articles I read or pictures I saw, the first about the animal shelter was still the one I appreciated the most. She looked true in that photograph with the horses. I wondered what had happened to them.


	16. Her Undercover Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma might not really be a spy but she does work for the mayor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Currently torn between this and my other SQ fic but progress is made continously :) No more trips for a while, although I must say FT4 was AWESOME! Changed my life, basically ^^

**Her Undercover Spy**

Everybody was free Thursday evening so Ruby summoned the pack to Granny's to start planning the parade. I hadn't seen the twins since Easter and frequently had to remind myself who was the nerd and who was the punk. There was also a couple of new faces. Ruby introduced us to each other.

"This is Emma. She's the newest member of the pack and knows all about LGBT rights and stuff," she said and winked at me. "Isn't that right, Em?"

I was excited to officially be considered part of the group and no one had called me Em since high school. There were a lot of memories and emotions connected to it, but now was not the time to become emotional.

"Yeah, sure," I confirmed with a smile.

"Yes, and this is Phillip and Aurora, the busy, busy nurses who happened to both be free this evening! Yay!"

Everyone suddenly whooped and applauded. It seemed to be rather sensational, indeed.

"Okay, now that everybody knows each other, let's begin!" Ruby declared, and the group quieted as I, Phillip, and Aurora sat down among them. "What we need, is support. The townspeople's support, volunteers, money, and preferably the mayor's approval. I'm not sure in which order we should tackle it, but we need to get the word out there. Any suggestions for how to do that?"

"What about posters?" Margaret suggested. "We could put them up around town."

"That's a great idea!" Ruby said, and everyone agreed.

"We should split up in smaller groups and delegate the responsibilities," Phillip decided. "That way we can focus on several things simultaneously."

Everyone agreed again and there was a bit of discussion before we had worked out a plan everyone was okay with. Margaret, Aurora, and Mei Lan were going to make and put the posters up. Ruby and Lacey would handle social media. Belle had offered to take responsibility for the economics, Phillip for the logistics, and we would all try to find sponsors. Then there was only one important task left to delegate, and I was the only one who didn't really have one yet.

"Who's gonna try to butter up the mayor? Any volunteers? No?" Ruby asked without really waiting for an answer. "Well, I didn't think so. We'll draw straws, I guess."

I noticed Margaret's eyes on me and shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Wasn't this just great. What if she suggested that I should do it, because of my connection to the mayor?

"Actually, I think-" she began, but I hastily interrupted before she could reveal anything.

"I'll do it!" I declared, cringing at my inconveniently eager voice. "I mean, I should do something, too. It's only fair."

Of all the curious gazes, Margaret's was the most intent one. I tried a tentative smile in her direction and was regarded with a smile back before she thankfully looked away.

"Are you sure?" Ruby questioned. "I know you're fearless and all, but it's not like you can just waltz into her office and expect her to listen."

Perhaps that was exactly what I should do? Well, figuratively speaking. I didn't know how to actually waltz.

"I think we should all go," Margaret said, and I suddenly felt stupid for interrupting her before.

She obviously hadn't intended to say anything about me. But _no_ _way_ I would pay a visit to the mayor with my new friends tagging along, that was certainly a recipe for disaster.

"I can handle it," I assured Margaret, Ruby, and anyone else who might be doubting my persuasion skills. "If she says no I'll just keep trying until she realizes what a brilliant idea this parade is."

"That's the spirit!" Ruby said enthusiastically. "So, okay, we need to work fast if we want to have it while it's still summer. I'm thinking July or August."

"It would be a nice addition to the Fourth of Julycelebrations," someone said.

"Maybe that's too soon," someone else commented.

"I think it's better to have the parade as a separate event," a third voice stated.

Everyone had different opinions and we eventually agreed to check the townspeople's interest and see what the mayor said first, then decide a more exact date. I was flexible, so that was okay with me. At least it was until I was standing outside the mayor's office the following evening after yet another late shift.

I didn't know what it was with her and working late on Friday nights – making others do the same – but last time was two weeks ago, also a week she'd had Henry, so it probably had to do with where he was. Okay, I was pretty sure that that was the reason, which meant she would most likely be in a bad mood tonight. Perhaps not the best time to ask permission for the parade. I hadn't even spoken to her since the money argument, not beyond a courteous _"Good morning, Madame Mayor"_ yesterday, as a reply to her equally courteous _"Good morning, Miss Swan."_ She didn't appear to be angry with me these days, at least, but maybe I should just go home and have this conversation with her another day.

I frowned and tried to peer through the small windows to her office but the curtains were closed so I couldn't see anything. Was she even there? The office looked pretty dark, even though the lights in the corridor indicated that someone was still here.

"Looking for something, Miss Swan?"

I startled and quickly spun around. The mayor was standing only a few feet away with her eyebrows raised quizzically and for a split second I wondered where the hell she had come from. Then I realized that the bathroom was the only possible explanation, since we were at the end of the corridor and I would've heard her heels against the floor if she had come from the other direction.

"No, but someone," I replied, relaxing a little.

"I wonder who that may be," she said with mock enthusiasm and walked the few steps to her office door and opened it.

Then she just stood there. Waiting. For me to enter? She sighed loudly.

"Did you want to talk to me or not?"

"Um, okay. I mean, sure. I mean, yes," I said falteringly before shutting my mouth and simply stepping over the threshold.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the – by now familiar – picture of Henry and I had to stop myself from asking about him.

"So, what's so important that you'd rather stay here and talk about it than...go out with friends, or whatever it is you normally do on Friday nights?" the mayor asked and sat down in one of her armchairs.

I turned away from the photograph above her desk and gave her a curious look. She had never been seated anywhere but behind her desk when I had been in her office before, but there she was in her armchair, legs crossed and with her eyes guiding me toward the couch opposite of her.

"You may sit."

With attempted casual movements I crossed the room and sat down on the – probably expensive and top quality – leather couch. _Just the drinks missing_ , I thought jokingly, careful not to let my amusement show. Thinking of drinks... I couldn't not comment on it.

"You really think someone in 'my financial situation' can afford to go out with friends every weekend?"

Her expression darkened and she pursed her lips. _Great move, self._ Now she just _had_ to approve of my idea, didn't she? _Ugh._ Why was I always so tactless?

"I thought we had sorted that," she said, .

"Sorted?" I exclaimed. "You slammed the door so hard my neighbours complained!"

Her brows furrowed, if only slightly, and there was a pregnant pause before she replied.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that ever happening again."

Somehow I got the feeling she was indicating she would never visit me again, rather than be gentler with the door.

"Is that why you're here? To complain about how I _closed_ _your_ _door_?" she said mockingly.

I sighed a little and looked away from her for a moment.

"That's not why I'm here," I said, shifting my gaze back to hers. "It's... I need to ask you something."

I had her full attention, that much was clear. What she was thinking, however, I couldn't for my life figure out. On the other hand, I rarely could.

"It could've waited until next week but... I thought I might as well get it over with."

So, maybe I should. Get it over with. Enough of awkward, unnecessary explanations, I should just ask her already. She looked at me expectantly.

"I don't have a date, yet," I began, panicking a little as I realized how it could be interpreted. "I mean, _we_ don't have a date."

I really wasn't making things any better and didn't quite dare to meet her gaze. Images of restaurant tables and dimmed lights and candles and chocolate eyes flashed through my mind and _fuck!_

"For the, uh... The... Eh..."

Why had I voluntarily put myself in this position? The previous late Friday night talks had been disasters! Last time, my mouth and mind hadn't cooperated at all, and the time before that, well, I'd rather not think about it. I was undoubtedly on my way to keep the embarrassing trend going.

"Miss Swan-"

"A parade!" I practically shouted before she could finish her sentence, sure that if she did, it would be very awkward for us both. "Me and my friends want to have a Pride parade in Storybrooke this summer, but we haven't agreed on a date yet."

I swallowed nervously and licked my lips, maintaining eye contact with her purely by determination, and tried to find my inner cool. My inner cool, which somehow seemed to disappear whenever the mayor appeared in any kind of sexual context in my mind. Except that romantic dinner dates weren't really that sexual, but rather... _terrifying_. I hadn't been on that kind of date since with Cassidy, five years ago, and didn't have any plans to go on one anytime soon. Especially not with the mayor. God, why was I still even thinking about it?

"A Pride parade?" she repeated disbelievingly, as if she was unsure whether she had heard right or not even though I knew she had.

"Yes," I confirmed. "We want your approval. And support, preferably, but I don't think anyone is expecting that."

"Why was that so hard to ask for?"

Her question surprised me. The focus should be the parade, not _how_ I had asked. But I guessed it was a good sign that she hadn't flatout refused.

"Yeah, well, I've been up since five, thanks to my lovely schedule, so forgive me if I'm not top notch," I muttered.

"You had a five hour lunch! I had thirty-five minutes."

She had a point. But she didn't have to get up at five, I reminded myself. Technically, I didn't drag my ass out of bed before a quarter _past_ five, but there was no need to be that precise, now was there?

"I just prefer to work _either_ early _or_ late, not both," I declared, then took on a casual tone and swiftly changed the topic. "But the parade, what do you say?"

Her expression didn't reveal much of what she was thinking and I curiously awaited her answer. Time for her to prove her LGBTQ support.

"I obviously have to think about it."

Yeah, _obviously._ Giving me a straight answer right away would've been to non-political for her. _Or too_ _straight_ , I amusedly thought to myself. Well, at least she hadn't said no. That was something. However, she wasn't quite finished.

"But I can bring it up with the council on Monday," she continued, causing my eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

"That'd be great!"

She gave me a tight-lipped smile and I was reminded that she was _still_ the mayor, and it was _still_ almost eight in the evening. All business, as usual, and excited exclamations were hardly in place. Besides, I figured our _business_ was over, and I should probably go. Straightening in my seat I gently smacked my hands down on the fine leather.

"Well, I guess that's it, then. I'll leave you to your work," I said and got up from the couch. "See you on Monday!"

I had meant for it to be casual, kind of a joke, but what came out sounded all too sincere and had an odd sense of familiarity to it. I blinked. She blinked. Perhaps it shouldn't have been such a big deal. It was a perfectly normal thing to say to your boss at the end of the week, _right?_ Especially when you would receive answers from her on said Monday. But she was _Mayor_ _Mills,_ no one ever _truly_ looked forward to 'see her on Monday'. Except maybe Mr Humbert. Judging by the silence I was not the only one stunned by my cheery parting words, but before I had the chance to start decipher the mayor's obscure expression, her eyes narrowed just a tad and she rid her face of emotion in her usual politician way.

"See you on Monday, Miss Swan."

Her reply didn't hold any of the light-hearted friendliness my words had, but I hadn't expected it to. Just because my subconscious was messing with me didn't mean _she_ would start behaving differently. I had gone over that over a million times in my head already. We might be making progress but it was a slow process. With a tiny nod I headed for the door and resisted the urge to look back even though I felt her gaze on me all the way there. I had just pressed down the door handle when suddenly...

"Swan?"

I stilled and slowly turned back toward her, careful to look neutral. Inside, I was burning with curiosity. What was she going to say? What could she possibly want? There was just a brief moment of hesitation and then she rolled her eyes, seemingly at herself.

"Are you walking?"

Thousands of thoughts rushed through my mind and I nodded breathlessly, unable to keep my hope from rising. The mayor gave me another tight-lipped smile, only this time it was less strained and more sincere.

"I was actually on my way home before, so..."

She didn't need to say any more for me to understand and the smile I gave in return was anything but strained. Then, of course, I had to open my mouth and ruin the moment again.

"What happened to 'you're not getting any'?" I said teasingly, immediately regretting my words and starting to backpedal as she shot me a dark look. "I mean, technically, this _would_ be the third time-"

She managed to cut me off, shut me up, and bring forward a sheepish expression on my face with just one warning.

"Don't push your luck."  
  


* * *

  
"How are the posters coming along? Have you started yet?" Ruby wondered, standing by the short end of our table at Granny's.

I might not be much for going out with friends on Fridays but Ruby was apparently free Saturday nights and it was time for another night out with the pack. She would be waiting the tables here for another hour, then the plan was to head down to The Rabbit Hole. Margaret and Belle were here, too, and the former answered Ruby's question.

"Yes, Mei Lan and I have started sketching already."

"I've started calling possible sponsors but no one's been interested yet," Belle informed us.

"Well, that's still great," Ruby said encouragingly. "It's only been a couple of days, we're not in _that_ much of a hurry. It's supposed to be fun, too. Have you had any luck with the witch, Emma?"

I contemplated how much I should tell the others about my not so smooth talk with the mayor. Not every detail, decidedly, but the longer I withheld the truth of where I worked, the more ridiculous it would seem when it got out.

"She said she had to think about it."

"Really? I mean, usually that would indicate a no, but that woman would never hesitate to crush someone's dreams."

"Please," I said, much more pleadingly than I had intended to, and Ruby's brows weren't the only ones furrowing. "I know you all hate her and her high-and-mighty manners, and she can be terribly mean at times, but..."

But what? My arguments suddenly seemed insufficient but I sucked in a breath and gave it a try anyway. I was tired of the open mayor hate.

"She's still a person."

A person, with feelings, and _"Why does everybody hate me?"_ Not the villain from some fairy tale, but a real human being, and _"as long as I stay the backbiting is kept at a minimum."_ The other girls stared incredulously at me.

"I'm not defending her actions or anything, I know what she's capable of, but as long as you fuel your own and others negative feelings toward her, nothing will change."

Margaret cast down her eyes, looking at least somewhat affected by my words, while Ruby instead narrowed her gaze.

" _Change?_ You really think she has potential to change? Because after all these years of putting up with her foul mood and insults, I've kind of given up on that," the waitress told me, then her eyes flashed with sudden realization. "Oh my God. How did I not see this before?"

Panic arose in my chest. This was not how it was supposed to play out! _I_ was the one who was supposed to tell them. She was _not_ supposed to have figured it out herself. Tilting her head curiously, she eyed me with new interest.

"You work for her."

It was stated without negativity and I tried to focus on that as I made an apologetic face. Perhaps it would be okay, after all. Perhaps we really were friends. Margaret's eyes grew wide.

"Oh," she said, suddenly understanding my connection to the mayor.

"I should've connected the dots weeks ago," Ruby complained, seeming more disappointed in herself than in me. "It's been right under my nose ever since you told me about your pain in the ass boss. Not even you watching Henry was enough for me to get it! Gosh, I've been so blind."

Wait, she knew about that? My eyes darted to Margaret.

"I didn't know it was a secret," she said, part apologetic, part defensive.

"No, and why was it?" Ruby wanted to know. "Why didn't you tell us? Are you her undercover spy or something?"

I chuckled slightly at the joke and shook my head. It eased some of the tension – which, honestly, _I_ was mainly responsible for – and the others smiled, as well.

"Only when it comes to pirates," I said half-jokingly and winked, in an attempt to regain my confidence. "You know, gotta keep an eye on that bastard. He tried to talk himself out of payingfor a bet he made with me last week."

"He did? How- _Oh_ , right, he works at her office, too," Ruby said, getting thoughtful. "I actually asked Ashley about him, she stopped by with her newborn daughter a few days ago. Obviously, we mostly talked about baby stuff, but a little about work, too. Wait, you know Ashley, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "We worked together my first two weeks and she showed me how the job was done. She had a little girl?"

"Of course you do," Ruby said with an eye roll. "You're obviously 'the new girl' she mentioned. I can't believe I've been so stupid! But yeah, she had a healthy little baby girl, and her boyfriend proposed and everything. It's almost like a fairy tale! Except for their lack of royalty and wealth."

She gave a small, dry laugh at the same time as Margaret let out an excited squeal. Gone was the meek – albeit a bit nosy – school teacher.

"They're getting married?!"

"I _think_ that's the plan, since she said yes," Ruby smirked. "Speaking of, how's it going with that animal shelter guy? And with Mr _Grandpa_?"

She turned to Belle, who quietly had been following the conversation, and grinned at her. Before anyone could reply, though, Granny called for Ruby, who cursed.

"Dammit! Tell me later, okay?"

With that she was gone and I spent the next forty-five minutes listening to Margaret's romantic drivel. Despite myself, I noticed my thoughts drifting to the mayor. Not that there was anything romantic going on there, being offered a ride home had certainly been a pleasant surprise. There had been no drunkenness or bad weather prompting her to do so. I hadn't even asked, it had been her own idea, completely.

"I do believe she can change," I suddenly declared, effectively silencing the babbling school teacher. "I believe anyone can change, if they're just given the chance."

After some hesitation Belle spoke up.

"I agree with you," she said, and shifted her gaze from me to Margaret. "I always try to see the good in people. There's something good in everyone and that's what I try to focus on rather than their negative traits."

Margaret looked like she wanted to agree but there was something holding her back.

"Not to be rude or anything, I mostly agree with you both, but wasn't that kind of the main issue in your last relationship?" she asked tentatively. "That you kept ignoring his...less flattering traits?"

Belle's eyes darkened.

"No, it was not. I was naive and overly forgiving, I know that, but the _main_ issue wasn't me trusting and believing in him. It was him breaking that trust."

" _No_ , no no no, what do I hear? Why are you talking about that asshole?" Ruby called from across the diner as she approached our table, changed and ready to head out. "Let's talk less about- _no_ , let's not talk _at_ _all_ about stupid exes and instead update me on the current men in your lives! And women, sorry, Em. How's that going, by the way?"

Unprepared for the question, I faltered a little before telling her that nothing new had happened in that department. She gave me a smug smile.

"You sure? Cause that was rather unconvincing."

I just laughed if off and said I was sure, but _dammit_ if I didn't feel a small surge of heat creep up my neck. Thankfully, no one interrogated me further. I wouldn't have had anything to say anyway, it wasn't like offering me a ride home meant anything. Well, it did mean _something_ , but not... _that_ kind of something. I sighed heavily at myself. Couldn't I have just _one_ night out with friends without thoughts of the mayor disturbing my mind? Apparently not.


	17. A Small Hushed Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma receives messages from an unknown sender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! I am terribly sorry about this delay but my health is not that great. Spring was tough but summer has been so much worse than I ever thought I'd have to endure. Today it's National Dog Day and I don't have my dog with me because I can't take care of him right now :'( I got temporary meds 3 weeks ago after being to the ER for my hip pain, I could barely leave my bed. This week I've switched to the proper medication for the inflammation in my bowel (finally!) but it has such bad side effects (prednisolone/cortisone) x( I might get admitted to the hospital next week if I keep feeling bad but I hope I won't... *crossing fingers*
> 
> So, yeah, I've been in a bad place and that's why I've struggled with energy, motivation, and inspiration to write on this. I've had a lot of fic ideas, though, so I've simply allowed myself to write on whatever I feel like for the moment instead of thinking I must update this. It has been great. It has been something good to hold on to when everything has been dark and just...pain. So I hope you all will forgive me for taking my time with updates.
> 
> Normally, the chapters are more than one scene, I know, but since it's THIS FIC'S 1st BIRTHDAY TODAY I just had to update even though I just have this one scene finshed. (I posted the first chapter of this on FanFiction.net exactly one year ago.) I also wanted to give you something to assure you that I haven't abandoned you ^^ As I have said many times, I will finish this. For myself, if nothing else, because I love this story and it's my precious little baby fic. I'm pretty sure I'm its biggest fan xD Oh well, here's the chapter!

**A Small Hushed Voice**

We hadn't been at the pub for many minutes before my phone buzzed in my pocket. I was going to ignore it at first, being there with friends and all, but something compelled me to check anyway.

**Hello!**

I frowned. It was an unfamiliar number and what kind of stranger only wrote 'hello'? Unless...it wasn't a stranger. I quickly scanned the bar counter and my jaw tensed upon seeing who was sitting there, gazing in my direction with a leer already in place. _Fucking great!_ So now what, he was stalking me? That clearly classified as the kind of behaviour I should report to the mayor.

"What's the matter, Emma?" Mei Lan wondered quietly.

She and Aurora weren't drinking but had decided to come anyway, since getting drunk was by no means the point of this night out. Lacey was working, so even though she was around she didn't have much time to chat. She and Ruby was planning on satisfying their party urges later in the night. Or, technically, very early next morning.

"Captain _Hooker_ is here," I muttered, just as a second text rolled in.

I looked down at the screen, a bit confused, because Killian had both of his hands clearly visible. Maybe it had just taken a couple of minutes extra to be delivered? The message didn't seem overly much like something he'd write, though.

**Is this Emma Swan?**

"I'm not sure I know who Captain Hooker is but judging by the boat guy's staring, I'm guessing it's him," Mei Lan concluded and glanced down at the phone in my hand, frowning. "Is he texting you?"

 _Texting_ could easily have been replaced with _bothering_ without changing the underlying meaning of her question. The thought of Killian having my number made me feel a little uncomfortable, to be honest, and I was glad to be among friends. That was, even if my mysterious texter was someone else. If the leer Killian had given me was any indication, he didn't care as much about the mayor's threats with alcohol in his system.

"Ugh, I don't know," I muttered as I showed Mei Lan the two texts. "I have no idea who this is. Might be him, but doesn't look like his style."

"Hmm," Mei Lan pondered. "Call and see if he reaches for his phone?"

"I guess I'll have to do _something_ to get peace in my mind," I agreed and hovered with my thumb over the call button. "But what if it's not him?"

"Well, then whoever texted you can introduce themselves properly."

 _Fair_ _point_ , I thought. But it wasn't exactly quiet in the pub and I didn't have my earphones with me. It would be hard to hear the person at the other end of the line.

"It's too loud in here. I'll just send a text and see if I get a reply," I decided, and Mei Lan nodded.

**Yes, that's me. Who are you?**

We both waited impatiently, eyes on the still lit screen, and jumped slightly when Aurora suddenly poked her head between us.

"Trouble?"

"I...don't know yet," I said and shrugged. "Someone's texting me and-"

I looked down at the new message that popped up and let out a frustrated sigh. It only said " **Guess? :p** " and I wasn't in the mood for games. Then I remembered to keep an eye on Killian but unfortunately there were people blocking my line of sight, so I put my forehead in my free hand with another sigh.

"Yep, trouble," Mei Lan said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Come on, Emma, what are you going to do?"

What was I going to do? Tell them to fucking stop messing around, was what I was going to do! I started typing an angry reply, not being cheap with the curses, and ignored Aurora's concerned "um." She didn't have to worry, I just needed to get rid of some frustration before composing a more serious message with a less accusing tone.

**I don't have time for silly games, just tell me who you are!**

"What if you had accidentally sent that first one?" Aurora wondered, wide eyed.

"That could've gotten interesting," I said contemplatively, enjoying the effect it had on the redhead, who looked quite shocked. "Perhaps I should have?"

Mei Lan shook her head at me and I grinned at them both.

"I'm just kidding. I was careful."

A new text arrived, this time a sad smiley, and with a surge of irritation I shoved back my chair and stood.

"I'm done! Where's that pirate?" I barked and stalked away from the table, heading to where I had last seen him.

"Emma, wait!" I heard Mei Lan call after me, but I was determined to solve this and to do so _now_.

It was when I had pushed past most of the crowd, spotted the Irishman chat with another girl, and felt the phone in my hand buzz with yet another message, that I realized my anger was groundless. Before Killian could notice me I ducked into the crowd again and quickly read the text, paling a little.

**I'm sorry. It's Henry.**

Henry? It immediately felt considerately less creepy but why on _Earth_ would _he_ be texting me? And this late, too! Full of questions I made my way out into the cool evening air. I needed to clear my head a bit.

 _Henry_.

I read the text again, making no better sense of it. Then a third one appeared.

**Please, don't be mad at me!**

That was it, I couldn't let the poor kid think I was mad at him. Besides, the mayor would probably kill me either way for talking to her son behind her back. _Oh my God, the mayor!_ I pressed the call button before I could change my mind. It didn't take many signals before a small, hushed voice sounded on the other side of the line.

"Hello?" it whispered, and had I not retreated from the busy entrance of the pub, I wouldn't have heard it.

"Hi, Henry!" I said gently. "I'm not angry with you, just surprised. I thought you were someone else. What's up? Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

"I should, that's why I need to be quiet," he replied, still whispering. "I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to look my number up and...talk to _me_?" I asked incredulously and scratched the back of my head, not quite believing I was actually having this conversation.

"It was easy. There aren't a lot of Emma Swans in Storybrooke."

"But still, you made the effort. Can't you talk to your parents? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind talking to you, I'm just trying to understand."

"I don't want to give them any more reason to fight. They are still acting weird."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said earnestly. "Is there... Is there something in particular you'd like to talk about?"

I wasn't sure how to deal with this. The kids at the orphanage usually had other kinds of troubles and they weren't my boss' son. I tried to block that part out, tried not to think about the mayor at all. This was between Henry and me, I had promised once that he could trust me not to tell anyone. The soft whispering continued.

"No. I just thought it'd be fun to text you. I'm sorry that you didn't think so. You're an adult, after all."

I chuckled heartily.

"You know, kid, I'm gonna let you in on a secret. Everything you've ever heard about being an adult, is bullshit."

There was a muffled snort and it took me a moment to realize what I had said wrong.

"Shit! I mean, I said 'shit.' I mean, uh. I suck at this."

 _Dammit!_ Henry giggled quietly.

"You kind of do," he agreed, feigning seriousness.

"I guess...don't tell your mom?"

"Are you crazy?" he hissed. "She can't know about this! She said you wouldn't watch me again, which basically meant we'd never meet again."

He sounded disappointed and his words touched me. I felt lost in this new role, as a friend but also a caretaker, and tried to lighten his mood by joking about his boldness. It was the only thing I could come up with to say.

"I didn't take you for a rebellious child, Henry. Do you disobey your parents a lot?"

"Pff, only when they're stupid," he replied cleverly.

"Of course," I grinned, just as a familiar figure exited the pub and located me, tilting her head inquisitively as she approached. "I, uh, kinda have to go. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," Henry whisperingly assured me. "Thanks for talking to me."

"Hey, any time. Sleep tight, kid."

I could've bitten my tongue. _Kid._ Thank heavens it was Mei Lan that had come after me and not one of the others. I knew I could trust her to keep a secret, if necessary. She looked up at me questioningly and I gave her a brave smile.

"So, I found out who was texting me!"

She looked at me expectantly, question in her eyes.

"It was a... _friend_ ," I went with.

"And?"

"Uh, well, you know. He just wanted to talk."

Mei Lan smirked and leaned against the wall. She gave me a knowing look.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that, right?"

Well, it had been worth a try.

"Okay, here's the thing," I began seriously. "You can't tell anyone, they'd go nuts, but it was the mayor's son. He really just wanted to talk, though."

Mei Lan stared incredulously at me.

"Really?" she wondered. "How did you become friends with him?"

"I think Ruby will announce any moment now that I work for the mayor," I started to explain. "To make a long story short, her hostility toward me is slowly fading and after an unexpected babysitting request, her son seems to have taken quite a liking to me."

"Well, you're quite likeable," Mei Lan commented generously, drawing a smile from my lips. "But wow, the mayor. I've never actually met her face to face, so I only know what others have told me, but that doesn't put her in a particularly good light."

"I know," I sighed and raked a hand through my blonde curls, faltering a bit as I tried to explain. "But she has these...moments...where she's like a completely different person."

Mei Lan studied me closely for a moment but then someone called her name and she spun around as my gaze flitted to the source of the sound. It was the redhead, Aurora, and she looked back and forth between Mei Lan and me almost suspiciously.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her. "It wasn't Killian, so all good."

"Oh. Good! You know, I think Ruby had something she wanted to share with all of us. Are you coming back inside soon?"

The way she changed topic so quickly made it seem like she was making up excuses for something but I had no idea what that would be. And I _did_ believe Ruby had something she wanted to share, something about me and where I worked, so whatever Aurora was trying to hide we really should go inside. I wouldn't want the news to be announced without me, I needed to be there to defend... _her_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday, WWCI!
> 
> I don't know when I will be able to update next but I have some of the shortly upcoming scenes scribbled down already so who knows, maybe you don't have to wait till Christmas ;)


End file.
